


Princess Mononoke- Halting Godhood

by BlackSabbath4Ever



Series: Princess Mononoke- Continuing the Adventure [1]
Category: Mononoke-hime | Princess Mononoke
Genre: Gen, Ghibli, Studio Ghibli, studio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-09 13:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1984113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackSabbath4Ever/pseuds/BlackSabbath4Ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Ashitaka and San begin to try and find a way to make their relationship work, an accidental threat cause by an old "friend" threatens to destroy both Irontown and the creatures in the forest. Ashitaka and San must overcome a malevolent being trying to become a deity as it threatens to turn the forest into its personal hunting ground and make its inhabitants its slaves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"Kohroku, can you pass me the nails?" Toki asked.

"Yes, dear, just let me…" Kohroku said as he looked around him for the bucket of nails they needed to finish up the house they were working on.

"Seriously? How could you misplace those? They were right at your feet! What if somebody steps-"

"Don't worry, Toki, I have them," Ashitaka said as he revealed the bucket from behind one of the already completed walls. "I put them over here when I picked them up."

"Oh, that's alright." Toki said with a smile as she took the heavy bucket of iron nails from Ashitaka. "Come on, you dolt, if you work hard enough, we may be able to finish this up before nighttime comes."

It had been close to two months since the death of the Forest Spirit. The progress made in Irontown had been faster than expected. Then again, most of the townspeople forgot that the lepers had been cured by the Forest Spirit and were able to help with much more tedious tasks. So far, about half of the homes had been rebuilt; Ashitaka even had his own house near the town's gate. He asked for his house to be placed there so he could go to the forest faster to meet with San. He had kept his promise with her, visiting her as often as he could, though with the amount of work needed in Irontown, it was not much.

"So, Ashitaka, how are things going with you and the Wolf Girl?" Toki asked as they readied a beam to be hammered in.

"Things are going well, I suppose." Ashitaka replied. He didn't expect Toki to ask such a question. Many of the townspeople didn't speak about her. The few times they did, there were few kinds words in their speech. He thought it best to keep quiet about San. "I haven't seen her for a while, though."

Ashitaka had not seen her for the past two weeks because a good deal of the townsfolk had caught a bad illness and couldn't work for that time. Every day he worked, she was the only thing on his mind. The two of them were still having trouble on finding a way to make their relationship work out, but Ashitaka believed it would be easier once Irontown had been completely rebuilt.

The house the three of them worked on was completed seconds before the sun disappeared below the hills, just as Toki predicted. As soon as the last nail was hammered into place, Ashitaka went to the stables and got Yakul. He petted his beloved red elk before he placed his saddle on him. The wound Yakul received from the Samurai had only healed recently. Now would be the first time he brought Yakul for a visit with him. He led Yakul out from the stables and leapt atop the elk. He pulled the bottom part of his mask over his face and rode off into the Forbidden Forest to meet with San.

Ashitaka followed the out of place rocks and tree carvings that made a path to where San was. It was dark, but he was able to see them clearly in the moonlight. Eventually, the path led to the cave where San and her two brothers lived. He dismounted Yakul and left him at the foot of the hill. He did not bother to tie Yakul's reins, as he knew that he wouldn't wander off. He climbed up the rocks and reached the mouth of the cave. When he got there, however, there was nobody to be found. He assumed that San was still out hunting with her brothers and decided to wait.

It wasn't long before he heard the familiar panting of San's wolf brothers. He stood from the stony floor and ran to the mouth of the cave to meet them. San's brothers, Okami and Urufu, were the first ones up. They greeted their "brother", who greeted them back. He saw one of San's hands as she grabbed the stone floor to pull herself up. Ashitaka took her hand and helped her up. When San got on her feet, she saw Ashitaka. Smiling with joy, she gave him several licks to his face, something which unnerved him the first few times she did it, but he grew used to it. Ashitaka returned her licking by kissing her.

"It's great to see you, San." Ashitaka said.

"It's great to see you, too." She said. She didn't sound very angry. In fact, she sounded happy to see him. "Where have you been? I thought you had gotten hurt or become sick."

"I wasn't sick, but there were a lot of villagers with a terrible sickness, so Lady Eboshi made me stay to try and help keep up with the repairs around Irontown."

"That's odd; many of the beasts of the forests have also become ill. I don't know what it is, but it's greatly affected the Ape Tribe."

This made Ashitaka curious. He found it hard to believe that the Ape Tribe would have become sick the same time that more than half of the townsfolk in Irontown also fell ill, especially since the apes never seemed to venture close to Irontown. "Are they doing okay?"

"They're faring well; most of their sick are now better." San turned her gaze from Ashitaka's eyes and to the scar on his arm.

"It doesn't hurt, not even a tingle." Ashitaka told her when he looked to where her eyes were drawn. San smiled and hugged Ashitaka, who held her closely. "I wish we were able to meet in the day and not always at night."

"Why not just take the day off? Surely they won't miss having one person gone."

"I would have to ask Lady Eboshi. I doubt she would let me go, even if it was only for a day so I could see you. She doesn't have any sort of grudge against you, but she is still the stern woman she's always been."

Although Ashitaka couldn't see it, the two wolf brothers sensed that something was troubling San. They had both been very wary of Ashitaka the first few times he had come to visit, though he eventually earned their trust. Up until recently, they had only tolerated his presence because it made San happy (something neither of them had thought possible, their sister infatuated with a human). They both did their best to keep San in high spirits ever since their mother died. For a long time, she had been distraught even when Ashitaka was visiting. She improved after a week or so and was back to being the same sister the two wolves cared for so much. Ashitaka was a big help in this, so when he failed to show for half a month, the two wolves worried that San would have become aloof. The elder brother believed that if he ever truly did abandon her, she would become dispirited. He could think of only one way to help the two with their budding relationship.

"San, can I speak with you for a moment?" Her older brother, Okami, said suddenly. He walked outside of the cave and asked San to follow him. "I would like to speak with her in private, brother."

Okami jumped to the roof of the cave with San close behind him. After she successfully climbed on top, he began to speak.

"San," He said, "do you truly wish to make this boy your mate? The one who you want to spend the rest of your life with? The one who will be the father of your children?"

"Yes," She replied, "I told you this before, you even seemed fine with the idea."

"I have no objections to your relationship with Ashitaka. He is a good man, even if he is a human. But I am your brother, and I must ask this: do you feel happy not knowing how he is, what he is doing, or where he is?"

"I…" San began.

"I do not mean to ask you to stalk the boy, but I would ask if you wish to see him more often."

"Of course."

"You were unable to see him for half a month and you were worried something happened. Well, something did happen, but fortunately, it did not seem to harm your mate. You even seemed unhappy until he arrived tonight. I doubt you will be able to keep this up forever."

"Are you saying that this won't work?" San growled.

"I'm saying this, sister: I want you to be able to spend more time with Ashitaka. If he is going to be your life-mate, you must be with him more often than you are now. That is why I am going to ask you to leave the forest for a week to live with the humans."

Ashitaka moved a bit further into the cave. It was not at all deep, so he simply sat against the back wall. He looked down at the floor as he waited for San to come back. After a few moments, he heard San shout "What?!" very loudly outside. Ashitaka quickly raised his head and accidentally hit the wall. As he rubbed the back of his head, Okami returned with San behind him. Ashitaka noticed San had a less than pleased look on her face.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Ashitaka," Okami said, "Before I continue, I must know if you and San truly wish to become life-mates."

"Of course I do." Ashitaka replied, but Okami's question made him wonder if San was beginning to have second thoughts. He knew he wasn't able to see her as much as either of them would have liked, but he believed there was plenty of time to find a way to make their relationship work out.

"Good. San feels the same way about you, but at the rate you two are able to see each other, I have my doubts it can work. That is why I am asking, no, telling San to leave the forest for a week and live with you, and the other humans, in Irontown."

San grimaced even more when her brother finished. Ashitaka looked to San, who was looking at the floor, and back to Okami.

"I think that would be a great idea," He said, "but if San doesn't want to-"

"No. If you both want to be able to make this work, this must happen. All I ask is that you keep her safe and that you protect her if any of the villagers tries to hurt her."

"I can take care of myself." San muttered. Ashitaka didn't like seeing her this way. He went over to her and took her hands. San looked up to his face and gazed into his eyes.

"I promise that if you can get through the week in Irontown, I'll come with you and stay for the forest for at least a month." Ashitaka smiled. San couldn't help but smile back and nodded. The two hugged tightly before Ashitaka said he would talk to Lady Eboshi about it. "I'll come back tomorrow with her response. If she says yes, we can go once you have your things ready."

San nodded again and licked Ashitaka's face. The two then kissed deeply before saying their goodbyes. Ashitaka jumped off the cave and onto the forest floor, making sure not to fall over like he did last time, and mounted Yakul. He looked back up to the cave before he rode back to Irontown. His mind began to wonder how San would react to the townsfolk. He then wondered what he would do if Eboshi forbade San entering the town, though he was sure she would allow it, seeing as how she wanted to show that she was a different woman now. When he got back to Irontown, he led Yakul back to the stables and took off the saddle. He then went to his house and changed into his nightclothes before falling asleep on the futon in his bedroom. It took several hours for him to fall asleep, mostly because of the things running through his mind.


	2. An Unfamiliar Home

The morning air was cool when Ashitaka awoke. He was quick to remember what he had to do today, so he got up in a hurry. He dressed himself in his normal clothes and ate some rice and bread for breakfast. As soon as he was finished, he went to where Lady Eboshi lived so that he could ask her if San could stay in the town for a week. He was sure that she would allow it; she had been trying to help the forest –or at least ensure no more damage was brought upon it- ever since her change of heart.

Ashitaka knocked on the door. The person who answered was not Eboshi, but Gonza.

"Oh, it's you," He mumbled, "give me a minute." Gonza turned and closed the door. Ashitaka could hear him calling for Lady Eboshi. Gonza was never very quiet. A few moments later, the door opened again, this time with Lady Eboshi in front of Ashitaka.

"Hello, Ashitaka," She said with her usual smile, "forgive me about Gonza; he's always like this in the mornings."

"Hello, Eboshi," Ashitaka said, "may I talk to you about something?"

"Of course you may. Come on in." Ashitaka bowed and went inside Eboshi's dwelling. She led him to the dining room where she appeared to have been finishing her breakfast. She and Ashitaka sat opposite each other at the table in the center of the room. Ashitaka sat with his legs crossed as Lady Eboshi took a sip of what smelled like tea. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?" She asked as she set the cup to her side.

"Your ladyship, with your permission, I would like to ask if…" Ashitaka began before trailing off. He wondered if he should be blunt and simply tell Eboshi that he wanted San to stay in the town for a week or if he should ask her what she would think of the idea.

"Ask if what, boy?" She snapped.

"If San could stay with me in Irontown for a week." He said rather quickly. Eboshi raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"I have been wondering if you were going to eventually ask to see the Wolf Girl, but I never expected you to ask if she could actually live in Irontown."

"It would only be for a week, My Lady, so that we may see each other more often. It was one of her brothers who suggested the idea."

Lady Eboshi took another sip of tea. She tapped a finger on her lips, as if she was thinking. Ashitaka waited anxiously for an answer. "Very well, Ashitaka, I see that you love this girl very much. She may stay with us for as long as she likes."

Ashitaka's face lit up with joy. "Thank you, your Ladyship. If there is anything-"

"You don't need to do anything in return," She interrupted, "You have done a great deal for Irontown, Ashitaka, you deserve this. You may go to her tonight to tell her. You may then take the next two days off so you two can do… whatever you both find fun." Ashitaka thanked her greatly and she told him to go and help Kohroku and Toki in building new homes for the former lepers.

Ashitaka made no attempt to hide the happiness on his face. All while he worked, he had a smile on his face. Toki guessed that it had something to do with San, but she didn't ask about it. When they finally finished, Ashitaka dashed to the stables and got Yakul. He quickly mounted him and rode off to the wolves' den. The forest sounded of crickets, small nocturnal mammals in the grass, and the nearby river as it flowed. Ashitaka soon found the den and dismounted Yakul. He climbed up to the cave. When he got up, he saw San sitting on the floor with her back on the wall. Urufu and Okami were sitting on top of the stone roof. San smiled when she saw Ashitaka and stood up from the floor.

"Did you get an answer from that woman?" San asked. She never did call Eboshi by name very much, largely because she almost never talked about her with Ashitaka.

"Yes," Ashitaka replied, "she said that you can come and stay in Irontown until you wish to leave."

San didn't look very pleased, even her smile was weak. "I suppose if we want to make this work, this is the best thing, right?"

Ashitaka nodded and hugged San. He knew she wouldn't enjoy Irontown initially, but maybe she would learn to live with the other humans and see that they weren't all bad. He kissed San on the cheek, who in turn licked Ashitaka.

"Do you need to get anything?"

"No, I already have my headdress, cloak, spear… no, I'm ready to go, just let me say goodbye to my brothers."

San gathered up her things and left the den with Ashitaka. Ashitaka sat near the edge while San spoke with her brothers.

"Take care, sister." Urufu said.

"I'll be fine," San said, "I can take care of myself, and I doubt there is anything I need to fear in a human town."

"Do not be so sure," Okami warned, "not all humans are such as your mate. They can be deceitful, a friend one moment and your worst enemy the next. I know that your mate will not allow any harm to come to you, and I am sure that the humans will leave you be. Take care. I hope you and your mate are able to enjoy yourselves. Do try to refrain from… physical mating," Both San and Ashitaka blushed, "it is probably best you leave that off until you know that this will work."

"I know this will work," San rebutted, "but I don't think me or Ashitaka have that in mind right now."

"Very good. We shall see you in a week, San."

"Goodbye, you two." San and Ashitaka ran down to where Yakul was. Ashitaka got on first and San sat behind him. They waved goodbye to Okami and Urufu, who bowed their heads as the left. San held on to Ashitaka's waist while they left the Forbidden Forest.

When they got back to Irontown, the moon was still high in the sky. He led Yakul back to the stables and then brought San to his house. He looked to San, who appeared nervous from the moment she entered the town. Maybe it was because it wasn't as wide or open as the forest. Maybe it was because she had never expected to stay in a human town for such a long time. Ashitaka was sure she would become used to it eventually, though he knew it would not be immediate.

"So where is your den?" San asked. It took Ashitaka a second to realize she was referring to his house.

"It's just around the corner." He replied. He took her hand and led her to his "den".

The house was little more than a hut. There was the main room, a dining room with a stove, one bedroom, and a bathroom. "It's not as large as some of the other homes in the village," Ashitaka said, "but it works fine for me."

"I think it's nice." San said. "Where do you sleep?"

"Let me show you around the house, first." Ashitaka first brought her to the dining room. Ashitaka told her what the stove was used for when she asked what it was. He reminded her not to touch it when it was in use, as it would burn her hand. San remembered once when she was a child and she stuck her finger in an open flame, against Moro's warnings. He told San what the bathroom was used for before he showed her the bedroom. That was when he realized he only had one futon, though it was big enough for two people to fit. "I guess we'll have to share then."

"Are you sure?" San asked, almost blushing, "I mean, I guess it's alright as long as we don't…"

"I know, I know. It should be fine." Ashitaka went over to his dresser to get his nightclothes. At the sound of one of the drawers being pulled out, San jumped. Ashitaka remembered she wasn't used to most of the sounds made by humans. "It's alright, San, it's just a dresser."

"A what?"

"You use it to keep your clothes inside. This one was a gift from Toki. There were several sets of clothes in here, but only one actually fit me. We might be able to find one for you."

"Why would I need to change right now?"

"You don't have to, but most humans change into more comfortable clothes when they go to sleep."

"Alright, I guess that makes sense." San said after a moment of thought. Ashitaka looked in one of the lower drawers and found a pair of night clothing that looked like it would fit San. "I think I'll change in the bathroom."

San went to the other room and put the nightclothes on the edge of the tub. She had never seen such things before. When she needed to bathe, she would just go in the river to wash herself. It was cold, but it seemed more convenient than having to heat water in a bucket and continuously emptying it into a tub. She undressed and put on the nightclothes Ashitaka gave her. It was somewhat loose around her waist but it otherwise fit almost perfectly. It was quite comfortable, but she felt strange in the outfit. She was used to her more rough clothing and her pelt.

Ashitaka had already dressed in his nightclothes when San came back to the bedroom. He was putting away his clothes in what he called a dresser when she entered. "You might want to put those in here." He said, pointing to her dress and pelt. San went to the drawer and examined it. She had never seen or used one before. When she lived in the woods, she would just sleep in her clothes. She opened up one of the drawers and almost jumped back again when she heard the sound it made when it was being pulled out. Ashitaka placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Even though the sound meant nothing to him, he knew that San was in an unfamiliar environment. She placed her things in the lower drawer. Before she closed it, she remembered she was still wearing Ashitaka's crystal dagger. She took it off her neck and placed it with the rest of her things. She didn't want to accidentally cut herself or possibly Ashitaka while they slept.

Ashitaka pulled the blanket over their bodies and kissed San on the forehead. She didn't seem too nervous now, but he wasn't completely sure; she had only been in the town for a few minutes. San did feel much less nervous now, but that was because she was with Ashitaka. Never in her life did she think she would feel for a human like this.

"How do you feel?" Ashitaka asked.

"It's much warmer than the cave," San replied, "but I still feel so… out of place, in a place with so many humans. The last time I had been in this town, I tried to kill that woman." Ashitaka stroked her hair and back as she carefully stroked his cheek, particularly near where she had cut him.

"Everything will be alright. Once this is done, we can go in the forest for as long as you like."

San smiled and licked Ashitaka. "I'd like that."

The two talked some more before they eventually began to doze off. San was not as anxious as earlier, but she still wondered what she would be doing tomorrow with the humans. Ashitaka's only concern is what would happen if somebody were to act unfriendly towards San, or possibly worse…


	3. The Hooded Gunman

When Ashitaka awoke, the sun had not yet risen. His arm was around San's waist while hers was on his shoulder. She was sleeping soundly, which was a relief for Ashitaka. He had fallen asleep before her and was worried that she would have trouble sleeping. He kissed lightly on her forehead and stroked her short brown hair before he got up from bed. He stretched out his arms and made his way to the windows. He dressed himself in his clothes and put his nightclothes back in the drawer above San's things. He pulled the shades that covered them and looked outside. All was calm in Irontown as the townsfolk slept peacefully.

That was when Ashitaka spotted something moving near the building which stockpiled most of the town's food. Ashitaka could tell from its outline and the way that it moved that the figure was human. They appeared to be wearing a large vest or possibly a cloak of some sort. Normally, Ashitaka wouldn't be suspicious; villagers would sometimes get up early to collect water for their baths. But none of the villagers dressed like this man did, nor were any of them allowed in the stockpile. This man appeared to be trying to break in, as his arms were pulling on something, likely the door handle of the building.

"Hey!" Ashitaka shouted at the man. Ashitaka certainly got his attention; he turned quickly to Ashitaka and ran off. Ashitaka, unable to jump through his window because of the wooden bars that were meant to prevent a break-in, ran through the front door to try and catch the man. On his way out, he snatched his sword which hung near the door.

The man ran past the path which Ashitaka's house was located on. He was fast, but Ashitaka was slightly faster. Ashitaka could now see that the man wore a large red vest with a hood pulled over his hair. The man tipped over a cart of onions, which Ashitaka jumped over.

"Stop!" Ashitaka cried. But the man continued running. Eventually, they got to the building which housed the old bellows that would melt the iron from the mountains. The man cut a corner and was out of sight for a few seconds. Ashitaka ran around the same corner as him and saw the man had stopped a little more than fifty feet away. Ashitaka also saw that the man had a gun, a rifle similar to the one that the townspeople used against Lord Asano's samurai, though it looked slightly smaller, something used for killing humans, not forest gods. The rifle was aimed at Ashitaka, who stopped and raised his hands.

"Who are you, boy?" The man asked. His voice was deep and gruff.

"I am Ashitaka," he replied, "I am one of the townspeople, nothing more."

"Ashitaka? You're not just one of the townspeople." The man said before he changed aim of his rifle, just a little higher. "Sorry, boy, but I truly don't know much about you, other than the fact you're a target."

Ashitaka could sense this man was about to attack; he was right. The man steadied his rifle and fired. At the same moment Ashitaka heard the flint click, indicating the gun was about to fire, he jumped to the left. It was not enough, however. The bullet hit him on the right side of his stomach and sent him spiraling to the ground. He cried out in pain as the hot iron ball tore through his flesh and shattered several of his ribs. He gripped his side as he lay on the ground. Blood flowed from the wound and formed a tiny puddle nearby. The man dropped his rifle, swearing under his breath, and continued running.

San's eyes shot open when she heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire erupt throughout Irontown. She got to her feet quickly and was about to ask Ashitaka what had happened, but he was nowhere to be found. She quickly undressed from her nightclothes and put on her headdress and other clothes. She saw some townsfolk were grabbing their own weapons, so she took her spear, knife, and the crystal dagger. She ran to where she heard the gunshot come from. The townsfolk were surprised to see her, though not completely taken back, as Lady Eboshi had told them San may have been arriving the day before.

San reached to old ironworks and saw that most of the townsfolk had formed a small cluster and were muttering amongst themselves. Before she could go, she saw Toki running to her. San almost drew her knife, still distrustful of most humans, but she had been told by Ashitaka that Toki was a friend of his.

"You, you're San, right?" Toki asked as Kohroku came up behind her, "you have to catch that man."

"What man?" San asked.

"He's running for the walls right now," Kohroku said, "I think he's going to try and scale them. He has a red vest and his face is covered."

This man sounds like one of those hunters. San thought, thinking back to a month ago, when Jigo brought his men to the forest to kill the Great Spirit. "Where is he running to?"

"He's going for the south wall. He might try to climb over it and escape."

San nodded and ran after the man, in the opposite direction of the crowd so she wouldn't have to push her way through. It was not long before she saw the man Toki spoke of. He was climbing atop a stack of crates so he could reach the top of the wall. San threw her spear at the man as his hand came in contact with the edge of the wall. The great distance caused it to miss where she aimed for, but she still hit him in the thigh. The hunter yelped out in pain and San rushed towards him. He groaned as he pulled out the spear and threw it behind him as he proceeded to continue his way up the wall. San was much faster than the hunter and was able to get onto the first crate by the time he was on the ledge. He attempted to drop himself safely to the ground, but San was able to catch one arm before he hit the ground. He attempted to punch her face with his other arm, but she dodged it with ease. With all her strength, she pulled the man up. With another burst of strength, she got him over her head while she kept a grip on one of his arms. She dropped to her back and bent her knees back. The following kick to the man's stomach caused him to bellow in pain. San let go as soon as he was over her head, sending the man crashing through the crates below. San jumped down from the ledge and onto the human's stomach, causing him to howl in even more pain. She took her knife and held it to his throat as she saw Eboshi arrive.

"That's enough, San," Eboshi said as she approached the two, "I want this man alive, not dead. He has quite a few questions to answer." San noticed that Eboshi looked furious at the man.

"What did he do?" San asked. "He looks like one of those hunters brought by that one human."

"Yes, he is one of Jigo's men." She stood over the man, who was holding his abdomen in agony. San broke at least two of ribs from the kick alone and he may have broken even more during the fall and when San leapt on him. "I don't know why he is here, but for whatever reason, he shot Ashitaka."

"What?!" San cried as she gaped at Eboshi.

"Ashitaka's been injured. This man shot him in the shoulder. If you want to see your… mate, I suggest going to the ironworks, where he's being tended to."

San ran towards the ironworks without a second thought. The townspeople had formed a cluster at the entrance. San shouted for them to get out of the way, and they did so without a second thought; many of them still had some fear of the Wolf Girl. They cleared a path for her; they knew she was Ashitaka's mate, that she was the only girl he loved. Gonza had the townspeople leave the ironworks when he caught sight of San so that she and Ashitaka could have some privacy. He left with them, not looking at the Wolf Girl.

The first thing San saw once the cluster of people had moved outside was Ashitaka, her life-mate, lying on a mat with his side wrapped in bloody bandages. His shirt was lying nearby with a hole in the side. He opened his eyes and looked to San with a faint smile on his face. San went over to him and hugged him tightly, but he groaned in pain. She eased up on her grip and held him further up his body.

"Please tell me you're okay." San whispered. She was fighting back tears, but Ashitaka could hear her sadness in her voice. He took his left hand and held hers.

"I'll be fine," He replied, "did the man escape?"

"No, I caught him. He was one of those hunters brought by… Jigo, I think Eboshi called him."

"I thought his outfit looked familiar." Ashitaka tried to sit up, but his body wouldn't allow it. "This hurts more than the last time I was shot. Then, I had the power of a demon, though it would kill me. I don't miss it, but it did help."

Tears were now forming in San's eyes. Ashitaka pulled himself up, though it caused him great pain, and held her tightly.

"What now? I came here so we could be closer together, but now you're hurt and it looks like the other humans are restless."

"They'll get over it. Eboshi is a very charismatic woman; I'm sure she can handle it. We can find a way through this, I promise." Ashitaka smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek before he lied back down again from the pain in his side.

"I'm going to stay here with you. I don't want to have to go with those other humans or go back to my brothers and tell them why I've failed." Ashitaka made no protest and simply smiled. He drew her closer and the two kissed deeply as the sun rose up.

"I at least want you to talk to Eboshi about what the hunter wants. He called me a target for a reason."

"I understand. I'll be back once I have an answer." San left the ironworks, ignoring the humans staring at her, and went to look for Eboshi. She decided to go to where she left the hunter, as he might not have been moved yet. When she arrived to the spot, she found he had been tied to a nearby pole and had his hood and mask removed. Eboshi stood nearby along with two of the women. San resisted the urge to run up to the hunter and slit his throat, but she knew that Eboshi would want to question him. Eboshi saw San approaching and went over to her.

"You forgot this." She said as she gave San her spear. San took it without saying another word. "I was able to get a few answers out of this man."

"Tell me everything he told you." San demanded.

"I can see you're very angry at him. I would be too if I were you. But that's not important. He told me that he was sent here by Jigo to kill you, Ashitaka, and to also poison our food supply. I assume that is why many of our townsfolk became sick."

"Why would that other human send him here? I thought that he left after the Forest Spirit died."

"He did, but he doesn't know who hired Jigo or why. But if he was sent to poison our food supply and cause many of our townsfolk to become so ill that they could barely stand, it must be so that we could barely defend ourselves. I feel like Lord Asano might be behind this, but I'm not sure. I sent a messenger to him a few weeks back, but the journey to his land is at least a month and a half going there. I'm going to see if he knows anything more." Eboshi saw that San was more than furious at the hunter. She wanted to kill him and was resisting the urge to stab him with her spear, plunge her knife into his chest, or slit his throat with the crystal dagger she wore on her neck. "Go back to Ashitaka. I do not want you to have to worry about him, and almost all of the villagers are able to go back to work."

San looked at Eboshi with a calmer face. "Thank you." She said suddenly and quietly before she left for the ironworks once more. Eboshi was surprised that the Wolf Girl showed any amount of gratitude to her. She was about to return to interrogating the man but realized it might be helpful to have Gonza nearby. Not for protection, but he was large, mean, and could be intimidating. Perhaps that would make this man tell her more.


	4. The Hunt Begins

San and Ashitaka spent the next two days trying to get to know each other better than they already did. Ashitaka learned the origins of the tattoos on San's face –they were a gift from the Ape Tribe when San turned thirteen- and that the first human she ever killed was a ronin who had attacked her. San learned much about Ashitaka's life in the Emishi village, how he learned to fight, how he trained to become the strongest and fastest in the village, why he had such a great respect for nature, and that he had a younger sister named Kaya. Ashitaka had come to fully understand why San hated humans so much. He had never travelled far from his village, where everybody respected the Forest and its creatures, so he had no idea of how terrible others treated the forests in other parts of Japan. But he also knew that there were good people and there were many good people in Irontown.

San made great progress when it came to working with the other humans in Irontown. The townspeople would come to her and Ashitaka to see if they needed anything, though they rarely did. She occasionally helped with rebuilding the town while Ashitaka was resting, something which surprised everybody in Irontown, even Ashitaka and Eboshi didn't think she would. When she wasn't helping, she and Ashitaka were talking, playing games that didn't cause too much pain on his side, or having his wounds treated by old healing techniques that San learned from Moro. By the third day, Ashitaka was standing on his feet and could even run, though not for a long time, less the hole in his side would begin hurting again. By the sixth day, the two were helping the townspeople rebuild the town during the day and wrestled, fished, or played other games at night, though not as much as they normally could.

At last, San's week in the village had ended. She looked forward to going back to the forest, though she was much less anxious in the village and, while she still disliked many of them, she had come to hate humans much less than before. She knew Ashitaka said he would stay with her for a month, but she was unsure of whether or not he would be able to now. She knew he was strong, but if he put too much strain on himself, the wound in his side could reopen.

It was around noontime on the day they were supposed to be leaving. Ashitaka had gathered his clothes, his bow and arrows, and his sword. San had already gathered her things earlier in the morning and was ready to head off. He was not concerned very much about the wound in his side. The bullet had gone through and merely created a flesh wound. It was still bandaged, but the healing San used worked better than many expected. He was about to meet San at the stables with Yakul when she came inside the house.

"Are you sure you can go out in the forest?" She asked, "Life there is much harder than in this place."

"I know that," Ashitaka said with a reassuring smile, "I should be fine, the wound has healed up nicely and shouldn't cause too much trouble."

"But what if something happens and you do get hurt?"

"Then it will be my own fault. Let's go."

Seeing that he would not budge from his position in the matter, San nodded and they went to the stables. She was sure that he would be fine but was still slightly worried.

Just before they got to the stables, a loud shot rang from outside the wall. The townspeople immediately stopped what they were doing and listened. Soon after, a second shot rang throughout the town. Ashitaka knew that it couldn't have been any of Irontown's residents. Eboshi had the guns placed in the armory and only she and Gonza had a key. It could not have been Asano either, for he had no guns available.

"It must be Jigo." Ashitaka muttered, "It has to be."

"But why would he attack here?" San asked, "I thought he left after we returned the Forest Spirit's head."

"I don't know, maybe Asano hired him."

"What's going on here?" Eboshi called from behind them. "Nobody is supposed to have access to the rifles."

"It's not any of the townspeople, My Lady; it might be one of the hunters that work for Jigo." Ashitaka replied.

"I should have known not to trust that man. I want you two to get out of here."

"How are we supposed to leave if there are gunmen just outside the walls?" San asked.

"We could scale the walls and swim to the shore;" Ashitaka answered, "that way, they won't be able to see us as easily. But what are we supposed to do once we're safe?"

"I want you to find Jigo, if that is who is behind this, and I want you to get answers from him. Eboshi replied in a stern voice. "If he really has sent his men to attack Irontown, be it for his own reasons or for a client of his, I want him dead."

Ashitaka could understand why she would want Jigo dead. He once helped her take down a god. Now he was trying to take out her town by poisoning the townspeople and shooting at them with the same gunmen who once defended Irontown. Ashitaka wasn't much for killing, though, and he doubted he would be able to kill Jigo. San didn't have any problem killing him. To her, he was the human who was the second most responsible for the destruction of the forest, behind Eboshi of course, but San no longer wished to kill her.

The two ran off to the opposite side of the town so they could get over the wall without worry of being shot. San was able to jump to the top of the wall and pulled Ashitaka up. The two of them carefully dropped down the wall to avoid accidentally landing on one of the spikes that had been set up to prevent an invasion from the lake. San leapt from one spike to another while Ashitaka followed behind. They heard a few more gunshots from the opposite side of Irontown before they jumped into the lake. The water soaked both of their clothes, but San's wolf pelt got the worst of it, though she kept it on. They swam to see if there were any hunters on the shore. They saw none at the beach, but above on the short cliffs they saw twenty of the red umbrellas the hunters used to hide themselves in, though they knew there could have been more hiding somewhere else. The two of them swam to the shore but did their best to remain underwater so they wouldn't make so much noise as to attract the hunters' attention. Doing so caused Ashitaka's side to ache in pain, but he powered through it and was able to reach the shore before San, who came behind several moments later, shaking herself to remove some of the water from her pelt. Ashitaka hushed her so they wouldn't be noticed.

Under the umbrellas, the hunters sat with their rifles aimed at the walls of Irontown. Whether they meant to shoot through the wood and possibly hit somebody or if they were waiting for one of the villagers to show themselves was unclear, but they seemed intent on staying. They ran on the dry sand, occasionally looking behind them to see if they were being followed. They saw no other hunters along the cliffs or on the beach. They didn't know exactly how many hunters Jigo led, so they continued every cautiously. They eventually reached a path on the beach that led up to the forest and continued on the way.

Eventually, they ran out of energy and stopped near a pond about twenty miles away from the village. They knew not how long they ran, but it seemed to be for hours. San leaned on a tree while Ashitaka collapsed near the water. San laughed weakly in between pants and collapsed next to him. They were both tired and had aching legs. Sweat was now what drenched their clothing, not water. Still, it wasn't long before they regained their energy and they sat down to think of their next move.

"We need to stop those hunters," Ashitaka said, "but I want to know who sent them to attack Irontown."

"And you," San added, "there has to be a reason for them to target you specifically."

Ashitaka nodded. "We should go find your brothers; they would be a great help, considering we're own our own for now."

"I agree; they'll probably be waiting for us at the den."

Ashitaka and San continued to her home near the middle of the forest. San seemed to know the exact path to the cave. Ashitaka wasn't surprised; she probably explored the forest in its entirety. Ashitaka was only able small parts of it with her on most days. Now, however, he didn't know how long he was going to be in the forest. But now wasn't the time to think about that; they had to take down the hunters in front of Irontown and find Jigo.

When Ashitaka and San reached the den, they found her two brothers were already waiting for them.

"We were wondering when you would return," Urufu said, "we could smell you both from a mile away."

"That's because we've been running for hours." Ashitaka explained.

"Were you in that much of a hurry to leave the humans, San?" Okami asked.

"No," San replied, "the humans are being attacked by the same hunters that killed Okkoto and brought the humans the guns which killed mother and the Great Forest Spirit."

Both wolves barred their teeth and growled. They looked to each other as if they were speaking and turned back to San and Ashitaka.

"We must find these humans," Okami growled, "They continue to pose a threat to the forest even after they almost completely destroyed it."

"We should hurry, before-" Before Ashitaka could continue, his eyes grew wide and he suddenly clenched his side. San looked to see what was wrong and saw that his bandages had torn sometime earlier. His shirt already had some blood in the area where the bullet had struck him. Ashitaka fell onto one knee and quickly removed his shirt to see how bad the wound was. It was not infected, but the bandages had indeed failed and his stitches torn. Okami and Urufu leapt from their perch to see what was wrong when San grabbed Ashitaka.

"He won't be able to fight in this condition." Urufu remarked.

"I know that." San snapped, "Come on, Ashitaka, we have to get you to the cave."

San helped Ashitaka up to the den and laid him down on the straw bedding that she slept in.

"I should have known this would have happened." Ashitaka said in pain.

"It's fine," San said, "We had the choice of staying in that place until you healed or coming here with the risk of you reinjuring yourself."

"I know, but now I won't be able to help against the hunters."

"Don't you worry about us," San remarked as she took Ashitaka's bow and arrows and laid them nearby. She would have used them herself if she knew how to properly wield them, "I doubt the hunters will be able to handle all three of us at the same time."

"Are you sure you want to go now?"

San licked Ashitaka's face and nodded with a smile. That was all he needed to be reassured. He wished her luck before she returned to her brothers and lied back down when she left the cave, one hand on his side to try and ease the pain.

"What happened to your mate?" Okami asked.

"I'll explain everything," San answered, "but right now, we have to –I can't believe I'm actually saying this- we need to go and help the humans."


	5. The Hunt for the Hunters

San rode on her old brother with her mask pulled over her face. She gripped her spear tightly in her right hand and held on to Okami with her left. They wolves moved swiftly through the forest, leaping over every obstacle in their way. San was assured that Ashitaka would be fine. He had his bows and his sword and he was resourceful; he would be able to think of something if he couldn't fight off his enemy. But she was trying to get her mind off that and more on how she and her two brothers were going to defeat at least twenty of the hunters.

San knew her brothers often favored hit and run tactics. They would often charge in, take out one or two of their adversaries, and run off before continuing the attack minutes later. However, she knew that this tactic was not without risk; if they kept coming from the same direction, they could lose the element of surprise. They also knew that there was a possibility that the hunters would set up a tighter defensive position, making it harder for them to break through and hit them hard. Normally, San would not be so worried. But the hunters had guns, weapons which could kill gods, and could use them better than any other human she had seen.

By the time Irontown was in view, the sun had begun to set over the horizon, painting the sky pink and red while drowning the lake in orange and yellow. The clouds above reflected the colors of the sky on their edges while maintaining a white center. The trees in the forest cast tall looming shadows over San and her brothers as they walked on the dark green earth. This would be an advantage for them, as the hunters could not see them as easily in the dark while the wolves were able to see perfectly fine in almost any degree of darkness.

A little less than hundred feet away from the foot of the hill, San and her brothers spotted the familiar red umbrellas. As before, there were no more than twenty in total. San could see the hunters hiding behind the umbrellas as they cleaned and reloaded their weapons. San looked at the walls of Irontown and saw that the hunters had fired several more shots after she and Ashitaka escaped.

"It looks like the hunters have wasted a good amount of their bullets." Okami commented.

"That doesn't mean they ran out," San pointed out, "They probably have ten, maybe twenty carried by each of them. We can't take them all head on."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

The hunters kept a keen eye on the gates of Irontown. Their view was fixated on the massive wooden walls that kept the townsfolk safe from harm. But they knew it could not last. After a while, the townsfolk would have to give up and come out from their precious town to get food. When they did leave, the hunters would be ready.

The hunters were not expecting a large white wolf to attack them from behind. The wolf came charging from the forest, but they did not hear its footfalls until it was on the dirt road. By then, it was too late for the hunter closest to the beast to raise his weapon in defense. The wolf leapt onto him and began to rend him with tooth and claw. The hunters were taken aback as their comrade screamed in pain while he was being torn to shreds. Several hunters raised their rifles but hesitated to fire, afraid they would accidentally shoot their already mauled comrade. One hunter decided his friend would be of no help any longer and fired. The wolf saw the moment the hunter took aim and jumped out of the way just as the trigger was pulled. The bullet missed both wolf and hunter and instead hit the nearby dirt. The hunter was already dead by this point with most of his neck and chest torn by the white wolf. The other hunters took aim and fired, but the wolf moved too quickly for them to get an accurate shot. The wolf ran back up the hill and into the forest. One of the hunters began to go after it until his leader ordered him to stand down. The hunters then took their attention away from Irontown and fixated the aim of their guns to the forest.

The next attack surprised the hunters even more. The hunters, due to their position, were close to the shore of the lake and were perched atop a slight slope, a slope tall enough for a not so large human to hide behind. Below this slope, a white wolf slightly larger than the last jumped with great might and snatched the head of one hunter in its mighty jaws. Just as the other hunters turned to see what had happened, a human dressed in the pelt of a wolf scurried up from the slope and thrust a spear into the chest of another hunter before swinging her weapon to cut the throat of another. Several hunters fired at the human while the others fired at the wolf. Neither wolf nor human were hit, though the hunters accidentally shot four of their own due to their tight grouping and the shock of the attack. The wolf and the human disappeared into the forest as they ran on the same path as the last wolf had done. They never expected to have to fight such beasts that day or even at all. They were lead to believe that the forest gods had all died out and the animals had become small stupid beasts once more. In total, they lost seven men, three to the wolves and the human and four to friendly fire.

San and Okami met up with Urufu after three minutes.

"That was a brilliant plan!" Urufu praised, "Those humans never stood a chance."

"Well, they did most of the work," San remarked, "The hunters accidentally shot several of their own. Speaking of shot, are you at all hurt?"

"No, the humans were unable to fire while I fought one of their own. When one finally did shoot at me, I dodged out of the way."

San took a moment to clean her spear in a nearby stream while Okami and Urufu drank.

"Do you think they've fled?" Okami asked San.

"Not yet, but I bet we're close," San replied, "those humans are stubborn but I doubt they'll stick around much longer if we pull off another attack like that."

"Do you think we could do it again? They might be prepared for another attack."

"Then we'll change it up a little," Urufu said, "And I have an idea on how we can."

Back at the gates of Irontown, the hunters muttered curses under their breath as they pulled white sheets over the bodies of their fallen comrades. Two men tended to the bodies while the remaining hunters watched the hill and the shore. Their guns were loaded and ready to be fired. The ones who were not taking care of their dead watched intently as they looked to see a spot of white fur somewhere in the forest. The ones tending to the dead had their guns in one hand as they worked, ready to attack the wolves and the human with them.

As they watched the top of the hill, the hunters saw what appeared to be a log on its side on the top of the grassy knoll. Very soon, the log began to move towards them. It didn't take long for them to register the fact that the log was rolling downhill. The leader of the hunters ordered his men to get out of the way. The men who were supposed to be watching for those who attacked them were able to clear a path for the fallen tree. The men who were attending to their dead, however, were not as lucky. The log bounced on a large rock and hit one on the head while it came crashing down on the other.

The hunters were momentarily distracted as they looked to see if either of their friends was badly harmed. They failed to see the two wolves and the human, now riding on the larger wolf, charging towards them. By the time the leader heard the sound of the wolves, the larger one had already thrown itself into the fray, knocking down two hunters and chomping the head of another. The human, who the hunters could now see was a girl, thrust her spear into the chest of the leader of the hunters. The larger wolf landed on the shore and began to run. The remaining hunters took aim at the two and fired. To them, it appeared that their shots missed.

The hunters stopped to reload once the wolf and the girl ran away from sight. That was when the other white wolf, which they failed to realize had hidden behind a small boulder when his larger brother attacked, gored one hunter onto the shore and then leapt upon the helpless human. The last few hunters, leaderless and demoralized, dropped their weapons and retreated. Urufu finished off his fallen adversary in a much quicker and cleaner fashion than the one he had dealt with less than an hour before. He gave chase to the remaining hunters, ensuring that they would be unable to report to whoever had sent them. The hunters were smart, splitting up into singles to prevent the wolf from chasing them down at the same time, but they were not fast enough to get away. The wolf, with ferocious speed and tenacity, took down each individual hunter before the last one could even get a mile away. Each kill was more brutal than the last. By the time the wolf had finished the last of the hunters, his once white fur was now stained red with blood, as if the sky had rained red on a field of fresh snow.

Urufu cleaned his fur in the nearby lake to remove some of the blood that he had gained by eliminating the humans. The scent lingered on, but he wore it as a badge of sorts. He ran along the shore to find San and Okami before he realized that two of the hunters were not yet dead, only rendered unconscious by Okami's mighty paws. He returned to the gates of Irontown and found the two hunters were hurt, but alive. He dragged them individually to the gates of Irontown and howled loudly. As the gates started coming up, he ran back to the site of the skirmish and retrieved San's spear from the body of the leader of the hunters. He held it in his jaw as he returned to the shoreline and began to search for Okami and San.

Urufu eventually found his brother and sister near the path that San and Ashitaka had used to reach the wolves' den. He saw San seemed to be resting on Okami's back.

"What happened to the humans?" Okami asked. "What happened to you?" He added when he saw the amount of blood on Urufu's coat.

"All but two lie dead," Urufu answered, "I left the other two to the humans; they shall decide their fate." Urufu looked at Okami's side and added, "It looks like you may have been grazed by a bullet."

"That's impossible. I haven't felt the burning iron even touch my skin." But Okami saw what Urufu was talking about: some blood had trickled from his back and onto his side. "San, can you see if I was hit anywhere? San?"

San didn't answer Okami. Urufu walked over to her and nudged her lightly. He though she may have fallen asleep while waiting for him. He realized what had really happened when San slumped off Okami's back, revealing no wound on her wolf brother, but a red hole on the side of her dress. She had been shot while Okami retreated and had passed out from the pain and blood loss.


	6. Demon's Advent

When Ashitaka woke up, the sky had turned from bright blue to near black. The only light in the forest came from the stars and the moon. He could still see well, but not as far as normal. His side was still in pain from earlier. He guessed he underestimated how bad the gunshot wound really was. He looked around to see if San had yet returned. He sat on the ledge outside and watched to see her when he found she wasn't back yet.

After a few minutes, he saw Okami and Urufu run out from the trees. Had he not seen San lying across Okami's back, he would have been more than overjoyed to see them. Ashitaka could tell something was very wrong. He skidded down the rocky side of the cave and ran over to the wolves. Neither of San's brothers uttered a word as Ashitaka rushed over to them and removed San from Okami's back. He immediately spotted where San had been shot as he held her in his arms.

"What happened?" Ashitaka asked very quickly.

"We were successful in repelling the hunters," Okami replied, "But in our final phase of the attack, one of the humans was able to hit San."

Ashitaka quickly but gently laid San on the ground and put his ear on her chest. He heard her heartbeat and stood.

"We need to bring her to the Forest Spirit's lake." He said.

"Are you sure that will work?" Urufu asked, "I am unsure if it will work with the death of the Forest Spirit."

"It has to work!" Ashitaka could tell the wound on San was worse than his. It was closer to her stomach and she was unconscious. He didn't know how bad the wound was or how much worse it could become. On top of that, Ashitaka did not know any healing techniques that could help her. Reaching the Forest Spirit's lake was their only chance.

"It will take us a little under two hours to reach the lake," Okami said, "Are you sure you're fit to travel?"

"It shouldn't be a problem," Ashitaka replied, though his side did burn, "It's only a couple of hours away. My own burdens should not be a problem."

Ashitaka held San tightly as he and she rode on Okami's back. The wolves and Ashitaka kept their eyes watchful as they moved through the forest. They knew that Jigo could have more hunters hidden behind the trees and under camouflage. Ashitaka could feel San breathing. That was a good sign; he didn't know if the pond in the forest could revive the dead, though he was told by San that was what happened to him when he was first shot.

It was not long before they reached the pond that was once home to the Forest Spirit. Ashitaka removed San's pelt and tossed it aside as he threw her into the deeper part of the pond. He jumped in after her and pulled her up so she wouldn't swallow too much water. He brought her over to the island in the center of the pond and lied her down so that her body from her breasts down was submerged in water. After he made sure she was in an adequate position, he lied down next to her so that his own wound was submerged in the water.

Okami and Urufu were sitting atop a large rock on the shore of the pond. They had their eyes peeled and their ears perked to notice anybody or anything that could possibly harm their younger sister or her mate. They knew the hunters masked their scent with the blood of forest creatures and that they wore the skin of their kills to deceive the eyes of the forest. The wolves' greatest asset would be their ears, though they knew the hunters were very stealthy and that there were often odd noises in the forest.

Ashitaka and San had been in the pond for hours when the wolves first heard something suspicious. By now, it was dark. Both Okami and Urufu turned their heads when they heard what sounded like metal clinking against metal. They guessed it could have been hunters who accidentally bumped each other and their rifles touched. Okami was about to send Urufu to see what the noise was when suddenly the heard what sounded like multiple rifles being readied to fire. The two white wolves waited and readied themselves to dodge and then attack their foes.

Ashitaka and San awoke almost simultaneously when the wolves became alerted to the presence of the hunters. They weren't aware that the hunters were around them. San opened her eyes slowly while Ashitaka sat up before opening his. They felt weak, but they had the strength to stand up. Before either one of them could say anything, they saw that Urufu and Okami were poised to attack.

"Perhaps the hunters are here." San whispered to Ashitaka. Ashitaka nodded. The two stood up from the water and moved closer into the island. Okami and Urufu looked at them quickly and gave them a look that told them to remain where they were. San drew her knife from her belt and Ashitaka unsheathed his sword. The two backed to a nearby tree and waited.

It was not long before the hunters completely revealed themselves and came out of their hiding spots. At least thirty of them came out from under suits of camouflage made of rice sacks with varying amounts of foliage on them. Several green bushes became white and red humans as they rose from the mud which hid them. Their faces and clothes were smeared with dirt and grime to mask their scent. Urufu and Okami didn't attack; the hunters had their rifles aimed and ready to fire. Even if the brothers were to dodge one bullet, another would find its way into their bodies. The hunters remained still, but the wolves, San, and Ashitaka could hear footsteps nearby. They were very distinct footsteps and made more of a clicking sound than the sounds made by normal footfalls. Jigo had arrived.

"Ah," The fat little monk said as he pushed his way through a line of his hunters, "I was wondering if I'd see you two again, alive at least." Jigo walked to the edge of the lake and looked to the wolves and back at Ashitaka and San. "You caused quite a bit of trouble for me last time but I can forgive that."

"If you forgave us for stopping you from bringing the Forest Spirit's head to the Emperor, why are you trying to kill us?" Ashitaka asked.

"Well, mostly because of you, my reputation of having the best mercenary band around is in shambles. I can't return to any of the monasteries either since the Emperor told them about what I did. So now I have to regain my reputation by taking out you two. I already have a potential client in Lord Asano if I can bring you two back to his castle to prove I'm not incompetent. So please spare me the time of getting you two myself and just surrender. I promise I'll just make up a lie or two to Asano and tell him that I tracked you two down and you surrendered in an ambush. After that, I'll let you two go and you will never see me again."

"What about Irontown? Your hunters were poisoning their food and Asano wants to take it over so he can mine more iron from the mountains."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I have to do this or I'll have to stick to working with lower clientele. Now I don't want this to get ugly, so just come over here so we can get this over with."

"Never!" San yelled from the island, "I'll never help you, human, especially if it means you'll destroy the forest again!"

"Very well, then," Jigo sighed, "I guess I have to make an example. You two, fire!"

Two of the hunters nearby Urufu and Okami fired their guns. The wolves, however, were quick to see them and jumped before the rifles went off. The bullets whizzed over the wolves and past Ashitaka and San and flew into the forest. Everybody expected to hear nothing and that the bullets would hit a tree or, eventually, the dirt. Instead, they heard the iron balls hit something that sounded soft. They then heard what sounded like a thick liquid smacking onto the ground. Not one of the hunters moved.

"What happened?" Ashitaka whispered.

"I don't know," San replied, "but I fear they may have hit an animal."

San was not far off. The two hunters accidentally shot a creature of the forest. However, it was no animal. Nor was it a creature of the forest any of them had encountered.

Or wished to.

Three of the closest hunters went over to where the bullets path would have been. Okami and Urufu had swum to the island and were now close to San. Jigo and the other hunters watched with interest to see what would happen as the hunters disappeared behind a large bunch of plants and other foliage.

Very suddenly and abruptly, the screams of the hunters filled the forest. Several of the hunters recoiled while others stepped back. Jigo moved back a step or two when he heard them scream. Ashitaka, San, and her wolf brothers stood their ground and waited to see what made the hunters scream. They would not have to wait very long.

From behind the row of foliage, Ashitaka and San could see a large black mass moving from what appeared to be a small cave. Okami and Urufu not only saw it, they smelled it. It smelled bitter, like some sort of poison. A large black leg moved from behind the row of bushes followed by another. By now, even some of the hunters were aware of what was now in front of them. The hunters had, by pure misfortune, shot a large spider and transformed it into a demon.

"Uh oh." Jigo muttered as he viewed the creature. San gasped and Ashitaka raised his sword to the monster. The demon the hunters had unleashed finally came into full view of all nearby. It appeared to be an impossibly large black spider with a mass of black and red tentacles writhing on its back. Carried in the two huge fangs hanging on its mouth were the hunters who went to investigate what had happened. None of them were moving, not even twitching. The spider demon's eyes moved from those on the island to the hunters on the shore. It dropped the bodies from its mouth and let out a piercing shriek that echoed throughout the entire forest and caused birds to flee the tree tops. San grimaced and Ashitaka held his hands over his ears. Okami and Urufu growled and readied themselves to pounce. The spider demon leapt into the air and landed nearby a group of Jigo's hunters. The hunters fired their rifles and hit the monster in the eyes. The wounds it sustained, however, were healed almost instantly and regenerated its eyes. The spider shrieked again and crushed one hunter under one of its eight powerful legs.

Ashitaka and San quickly made their way off the island with her brothers behind them. When they looked back, the Spider Demon was about to finish the last of the hunters who hadn't fled yet. Jigo and the remaining men had already gone.

"Come on, you two!" Okami shouted. San got on his back and Ashitaka rode on Urufu.

"Where should we go?" San asked.

"For now, the only place I can think of is the Ape Tribe. If we go there, they may know something about this demon. If they do not know anything, I recommend we go back to the den and somehow hide the entrance and come up with a plan to defeat this monster."


	7. Chattering Apes

Okami and Urufu made their way to where the Ape clan lived when they tattooed San's face. They did not know if the Apes still lived there, but it was the only way they could find the Ape clan instead of waiting for one of their members to appear in the treetops. The last few times the wolves and the apes met were not very pleasant. However, they knew the apes also had a fierce conviction to protect the forest, almost as much as the wolves themselves, so they were likely to assist them in defeating this new enemy. Of course, the wolves knew the apes were not the wisest of creatures, so they knew there was a chance they would have to face the demon alone.

"How are you feeling?" San asked Ashitaka as they rode on.

"Much better than before," Ashitaka replied, "though I still feel a little weak. I guess it has something to do with the lake."

"I know what you're talking about. When I brought you there the first time, you didn't wake up until morning, and even then you didn't fully recover for quite some time. Right now, I can barely feel my legs and I feel drowsy."

"Don't worry, you'll get over it." Ashitaka said with a smile. San nodded and they continued onwards to the Ape Tribe.

The apes made their home in a large forest clearing. They had shelters made of large leaves and branches and other plants to protect themselves from whenever it rained. Most of them stayed in the treetops when they had nothing to do. They would only come down if they had to walk on a path that had no trees. They weren't fierce fighters, but they were very protective of their homes. San knew that they would risk anything to defend the forest; they almost killed Ashitaka so that they could eat his flesh in hopes of gaining his strength. Of course it wouldn't have worked and San didn't want to know what could have happened if she handed her mate over to them.

The group arrived to find that most of the apes were out gathering food. Only a few of them remained at the clearing. Those that were there were either asleep or beginning to fall asleep. When the wolves came into the clearing with two humans on their backs, those that were still awake were alarmed. They climbed higher up the trees and began to gather sticks to throw at them.

"Wait!" Ashitaka called, "We're not here to fight. We're here because we need your help."

"No," One of the apes said in a deep, slow voice that they all seemed to speak in, "humans do not help the forest. They only destroy the forest."

"Leave the forest." Another ape said.

"Human go away." A third one groaned.

"Stop this!" San shouted, "We need to stand together for once! There is something out there that is worse than anything we've ever fought, something even worse than humans!"

"Humans destroyed forest. Human continue to kill animals. What could be worse than humans?"

"It's a demon," Ashitaka replied, "Jigo and his hunters accidentally shot a large spider hiding in a cave and created a demon. It's more powerful than Nago, even Okkoto, maybe even Moro."

The apes sat silent in their trees. Ashitaka and San could see them sway slightly while they thought. He couldn't see their faces, only their red glowing eyes. Some of them were groaning or moaning at a low but audible volume. Some of them still had sticks or rocks in their hands.

"Let us see the creature." One ape finally said.

"It's too dangerous to go see that thing up close," San growled, "It survived being shot more than once and even regenerated its body after being shot directly in the eyes. If you go to find it, it will kill you."

"The humans like you still sound worse than this monster you speak of," One ape commented; San growled when the ape called her a human, "Tell us where the monster is. We can kill it. The apes are strong while the wolves grow weak."

All but Ashitaka seemed ready to kill the ape that called them weak. Okami barred his teeth while Urufu arched his back and growled. San had her spear tightly clenched in one hand. He debated whether telling the apes where to go or waiting to see what would happen. If he told them nothing, the wolves might eventually snap and attack the apes. If he did tell the apes where the demon was last seen, they might get themselves killed.

"We last saw the spider demon near the Forest Spirit's lake." Ashitaka finally announced, "I don't know if it is still there but if it is, please do not attack it. You will surely perish if it even notices you!"

"Human only thinks that because it is weak." Ashitaka kept his composure; he knew the apes hated humans as much as San and her wolf brothers did, possibly even more than they. "We will defeat the creature and you will see."

The apes spoke no more and began to leap from treetop to treetop as they made their way to the pond. Some of them dropped their sticks above the four while other purposely threw the sticks and stones in their hands down at the four. Ashitaka wanted to call them back but he knew they wouldn't listen. He felt as if he had just sent them to die. Of course, there was a chance the apes would heed his warning and not attack the spider demon. However, he also knew they were proud and sometimes, if not often, foolish.

Okami and Urufu watched the last of the apes disappear into the forest. They suggested they return home and wait until morning when they could better see the demon. San and Ashitaka agreed and they rode back to the den. On the way back, they heard none of the forest animals. Not even the nocturnal forest creatures were out that night. They had all hidden themselves in their nests and burrows.

Back at the den, Okami and Urufu slept above the cave entrance as always. Ashitaka lied down next to San on a bed made of sticks and straw.

"How are you feeling now?" San asked.

"My bullet wound feels fine," Ashitaka replied, "but I don't know how I feel about the apes. I told them where to find the demon and now they are going off to try and kill it. I feel like I sent them to death."

"Don't be that way!" San exclaimed loud enough for Urufu and Okami to hear, "It isn't your fault the apes are foolish! If they want to fight the monster, let them so that they can see that it isn't as easy as they believe it to be."

"I suppose you're right. I don't know, I don't want to think about it. I just hope that most of them return."

"I hope the one who called me human gets his head crunched off."

Ashitaka would have said something but he knew how much San resented most humans and how she passionately called herself a wolf. He didn't fight it and understood why she would hate to be called human. "How are we going to defeat this creature?"

"I don't know. The humans' guns didn't even harm it. I doubt your bow or sword or my knife or spear could do much against it either. Maybe if we find out more about it, we'll be able to find a way to defeat it. Nothing is truly invincible, even my mother… even Moro…" San began to trail off. She had tried not to think of Moro's death for some time now. She didn't want to forget about her mother, she loved her very much, but her death was a stinging blow to her that made her want to kill Eboshi and even drove her to stabbing Ashitaka with the crystal dagger he had given her. Her death was a painful memory to her. Ashitaka held her close as her lips began to tremble. She didn't want to cry, especially not in front of Ashitaka, so she held it in as best as she could. He knew that she felt deeply sorrowful about her mother so he said nothing.

It was likely around midnight before they fell asleep. As always, San licked Ashitaka's face while he kissed her on the cheek. They slept under the same blanket and held each other close. Ashitaka could see San's eyes were still wet from earlier. He stroked her hair and she smiled. His side was still hurting, as was hers, but they ignored it. It was a colder night than normal, but they were close enough that they were warm. Perhaps it was more so since Ashitaka had his shirt off and San had taken off her pelt since it was still very damp. Either way, both of them felt very comfortable for the first time in weeks.

While Ashitaka and San slept below them, Okami and Urufu kept their ears perked to hear for the demon or the apes. It was a couple of hours before they heard what sounded like distant screeching. It came from the same direction that the Forest Spirit's pond was located. The wolves knew the apes had found the spider demon and they were now paying for their bravado. They knew that even if they ran to help them, it would be far too late for them to do anything. They decided to wait for morning to tell San and Ashitaka what they had heard.

Ashitaka and San awoke after seven hours of sleep. Ashitaka woke up to his side burning in pain. San felt a similar pain but it was more piercing pain than burning. They left the den and went to Okami and Urufu, who had barely moved an inch since last night.

"Sister, brother," Okami greeted them, "The apes have found the demon. By the sounds we heard from last night, we believe they had little to no success."

"What did you hear?" Ashitaka asked.

"Screeching, screaming, and howling coming from the Forest Spirit's pond." Urufu replied. Ashitaka became angry and clenched his fists. "They were being killed by this thing. We warned them, they did not heed, and they paid for it greatly."

"We have to go and save them. We need as much help as we can get to fight this demon that Jigo summoned."

"There are few of us here, brother, and we do not know how many of the apes remain. Do you think that, perhaps, the humans in the town you live in would be able to help?"

"Perhaps..." Ashitaka hadn't considered asking the townspeople to help defend the forest, largely because he didn't know how they felt about the forest yet, though he knew they no longer feared San… as much. "Now that Jigo is gone, they may be able to help out."

"Then let's go to the human town and see if they are willing to help."

"They could be attacked by this thing, too," San added, "that should give them even more reason to help us kill the monster." Ashitaka just realized this as San spoke. If Jigo's hunters could not kill the demon, he highly doubted that the townspeople would be able to last very long against the demon if it found Irontown.

"We should hurry. We have to warn the townspeople that this thing is out there." San mounted Okami and Ashitaka rode on Urufu's back. With great speed, the wolves raced to Irontown with, for the first time, the intention to help the humans.


	8. The Rabid Wolf

Back at Irontown, the townsfolk had continued their daily tasks as if nothing had happened for the week that San had been there. Eboshi had told them to be on alert for more of the hunters that Jigo commanded. Most of their food was burnt and had to be replaced since they had no way of telling what was poisoned and what was not. Thankfully, they were able to catch a large amount of fish in the lake that surrounded them and had enough food for the entire town. Three watchtowers had also been built to ensure that nobody would be able to sneak into the town by climbing over the walls. At every hour of the day, there would be somebody in the towers as they watched the forest for anything that could threaten the town.

When Ashitaka, San, and the wolves were seen arriving at the village, the watchman shouted to the townspeople of their arrival. Gonza ordered that the gate be opened and that the townspeople not fear the wolves if they entered the town. Ten men came to pull open the gate at Gonza's command. After some strenuous effort, the gates finally opened. To everybody's surprise, the wolves entered the town with San and Ashitaka. Eboshi heard all of the commotion and came to greet them.

"Ashitaka," Eboshi said, "I wasn't expecting to see you for quite some time. I see you've brought your wi… mate, I mean, and her two brothers."

"Hello, Lady Eboshi," Ashitaka greeted with a bow, "I've come here because I need to ask you for help against an enemy that can destroy both the forest and Irontown."

"If you're talking about Jigo, you need not worry. We're prepared for one of his little attacks if he tries another one."

"It's not that human this time. It's something worse, something that can't be destroyed by your rifles."

"Oh? Well, what is it them?"

"Some sort of demon, like Nago, only this one seems much more powerful. Jigo's hunters accidentally created it when they tried to shoot San's brothers. They hit a spider that was hiding in a cave nearby and it quickly became a demon. They tried to fight it but when they shot at it, its wounds healed instantly. They even shot its eyes, but it didn't seem to phase the monster."

The townspeople began to mutter amongst themselves. Ashitaka felt that there was a sense of fear about the townspeople. Even Gonza looked unsure about the monster that Ashitaka spoke of. Eboshi looked more curious than anything. "What does this creature look like?"

"It was a giant black spider with eight massive legs. There were black tentacles all over its back that were colored black and red. It has two fangs that are large and strong enough to carry the bodies of three men, perhaps even more. I don't know if it can speak, but it does emit a terrible screech when it is about to attack."

"I think we heard this creature before then. Last night, many of the townsfolk heard some sort of high pitched screeching sound coming from the forest."

"That must have been it. It attacked us while it was becoming dark."

Eboshi called for Gonza and began to whisper to him. He nodded a few times and occasionally shook his head. After a while she sent him off.

"Alright, Ashitaka, I'll send men with you, but I first want you to do something about Jigo."

"Very well, I'll see if I can find him. We lost track of him when the monster attacked, so it may take a while."

"Just make sure it gets done."

With that, Ashitaka bowed to her and left with the others.

"Now all we need to do is find that human." San remarked.

"I doubt he is anywhere near the Forest Spirit's pond," Ashitaka said, "We might want to check any caves in the area."

"What if we encounter the demon?" Urufu asked, "Do we fight it or do we run away?"

"That depends on what it does if we run into it. Hopefully, we'll be able to escape. If not, we'll find a way to defeat it."

Ashitaka and San rode the wolves around the Forbidden Forest, checking nearby the river and other parts of the forest that were close to its edge. They travelled for hours, eventually for days. Still, they found no sign of Jigo or his hunters. There was a reason they were called the greatest hunters in the west. Eventually, they knew they would have to check the pond to see if the hunters were there. They knew it was unlikely, but they were running out of places to search. Ashitaka, San, and her brothers were ready to face the demon but they didn't know if they would be able to defeat it.

Ashitaka could feel something was wrong before they reached the pond. Something told him that the monster had done something to the pond. He almost wanted to turn back but he knew this was likely their last chance to find Jigo. What didn't make sense to him was why Jigo would return to the place he first encountered the demon.

Unless, of course, he never left.

As the clearing where the pond was began to come into view, the four noticed a large amount of white in the distance. As they inched closer, they saw clearly what the white was: spider webs. Okami and Urufu stopped several yards away from one wall of webs and sought a way around it. They found that all paths into the pond had been sealed by the demon. Some of the webs had one or two large clumps of webs on them. Ashitaka instantly knew that these were the hunters, wrapped in deadly white cocoons to be a later meal for the demon.

"I can't see through these damn webs," San grumbled, "How will we know if that human is here?"

"We'll have to cut through." Ashitaka replied after a moment. He didn't like the idea, but it was all they could do to get through. He dismounted Urufu and went up to one of the webs. The webs were loose and not too thick. His sword would be able to cut through them easily.

Ashitaka measured the wall of webs with the tip of his sword and then made a swift slash. The steel of his sword cut through the thin webs with great ease. He brushed past the fallen webs and sheathed his sword, exchanging it for his bow. He readied an arrow and scanned the area for the demon. The entirety of the edge of the pond was covered in webs. Even the tree tops had a layer of spider webs on them. The only parts that remained untouched were the water and the island. There, on the island, was Jigo, all alone and unarmed.

"I found him!" Ashitaka called to San. She came through the webs but her brothers went to a different entrance to see if the demon was anywhere near t. Jigo snapped his vision to where Ashitaka was standing.

"Hey! You two have to help me!" He cried from the island.

"Hold on!" Ashitaka called from the shore. "Come on, we have to help him." He said to San.

"What?!" San exclaimed, "After all he has done, you want to help him?!"

"San-"

"No! There is no way I am going to help that human! I barely decided to help you save that woman and now you want me to kill the man who is largely responsible for destroying the forest, my mother and the other gods, including the Forest Spirit?" San was enraged and Ashitaka could see it. Her teeth were barred and her eyes were wide. Her knife was gripped tightly in her hand.

"He has to help us defeat the demon. The people of Irontown will decide what to do with him later."

"No, he has to die! If you hand him over to the humans, they'll just let him go!" Ashitaka knew she was probably right. Jigo had helped Lady Eboshi in the past. There was a chance he would be forgiven for what he had done, though there would at least be some punishment involved. "I'm going to go to the island, right now, and I'm going to finish him."

San began to storm from the shore to the water but Ashitaka grabbed her arm. "We can't. Besides, he might know a way to defeat the demon."

"No," San said, "back off, Ashitaka, you mean a lot to me, but I have to kill him." San tried to go again, but Ashitaka continued to hold her back.

"San, please-"

"No!" She screamed before she lunged at Ashitaka in anger. Ashitaka was caught completely off guard. Even San seemed surprised at what she did. She backed away from him and saw that she had accidentally stabbed him in the stomach. Ashitaka, who felt a great burning pain in his abdomen, dropped on to his knees in agony. San gasped and immediately pulled her knife from him.

It was at that moment that the demon made its presence known. A loud hissing emerged from somewhere in the forest and drifted to the Forest Spirit's pond which prompted San to stand over Ashitaka to defend him.

"No," He said weakly, "You have to get Jigo, bring him back to Irontown."

"But what about you?" She asked, "You're badly hurt; I have to get you out of here."

"I will be fine but the others won't if you don't bring him there."

San looked to Ashitaka and then to Jigo. "You better come back." She muttered as she ran to the pond and swam to the island. As soon as she got to shore, she drew her spear and pointed it at Jigo's throat. "You're coming with me, human, whether you want to or not."

"I'd rather be anywhere but here, believe me." Jigo mumbled. He got up from where he was sitting and swam to the shore of the pond. San nudged him with his spear and hounded him out of the area. She quickly went over to Ashitaka and knelt down next to him. She gave him the crystal dagger, telling him he may need it. Ashitaka took it and gave her a kiss before she left. After she and Jigo disappeared behind the wall of torn webs, he shoved the dagger in his pocket and got to his knees.

Back outside the fort of webs, Okami and Urufu had come to where San and Ashitaka had entered the pond.

"Where is Ashitaka?" Okami asked San.

"He's staying back," She replied, "He's been hurt and it's my fault."

"Hurt? How?"

"I'll explain everything later but right now we have to get this human back to that large village where the others live."

"Let's go then, but are you sure you wish to leave Ashitaka?"

"He's going to be fine. He asked to stay back."

San mounted Okami while Jigo ran to Irontown. At the pond, Ashitaka had backed up to a tree and was now standing with its support. He had his bow drawn with one of his stone headed arrows at the ready. He kept his eyes open for the demon, which he knew was getting closer. Not too much longer after he had gotten himself up, the demon appeared above on the webs that covered the treetops.

"Stay back," Ashitaka warned the demon, "We do not have to fight."

"But that is where you are wrong, boy," The monster replied in a grave, deep voice, "You are human; I am a creature of nature. It has always been like this. Since the gods created the world, the humans have taken from nature and seldom return what they reap. You may be different than the other humans, but you are still human no less. It is therefore my duty to destroy you, the weak creature you are."

"You are no longer a creature of nature. You are a demon, a monster created by rage and hatred."

"You speak truly, but it was not the poisonous bullet that made me spiteful. I am a spider, a creature from the uglier, darker side of nature, one that proves to be more dangerous than a charging boar or a rabid wolf. What the humans did to me only gave me the strength I needed to channel my hatred. And now, no human invention can harm me. The hunters' bullets failed to break me, their swords left not a mark, and the spears they brought could not pierce my skin. All of their man-made weapons, useless. And now, you carry a bow with an arrow made of stone. It would be best if you simply lied down and let me wrap you into my webs."

The spider jumped from the top of the trees, down to Ashitaka. Ashitaka wasted no time and fired his bow at the creature with great accuracy. The arrow struck the monster in its belly and pierced all the way through the beast. The demon landed several meters in front of Ashitaka and emitted a roar in pain. Ashitaka could see that it was hurt and its wounds were not regenerating. He took this time to grab another arrow but found he had none left. He placed his bow around his neck and, clutching his still bleeding stomach, ran from the pond and to the forest.

The darkness and his pain caused Ashitaka to lose track of where Irontown was located. He knew not how long he ran before he collapsed near a stream in the forest, surrounded by trees and kodama. Their rattling heads was the last thing he heard before he passed out. In the background, he heard the screaming of the demon, though it was very quiet and far off. He lay sprawled out on the ground with one open hand in the cold, flowing stream of water.


	9. Fall to Pieces

It was barely daybreak when San arrived at Irontown with her brothers and Jigo. Gonza, who had been ordered by Eboshi to wait for Ashitaka to arrive with Jigo, and Eboshi, who had come to the gates that morning after hearing what sounded like screaming the night before. Gonza had also heard the screaming last night and had a rifle at his side just in case. They were standing on the ramparts, watching the forest intently. Gonza stood when they finally saw San and her brothers arrive with Jigo and went to order the gate to be opened. Eboshi, however, was more interested in Ashitaka's absence.

San dismounted her brother as they neared Irontown. She drew her spear and stuck the tip at Jigo's back. She ordered that the monk remain still while the gates to Irontown were raised. Okami and Urufu stood behind San with their eyes fixed on Jigo in case he tried to escape or pull some trick from his sleeve. San wanted to plunge her spear into the monk. Almost nothing would make her happier, except for maybe Ashitaka returning with the demon's head in his hands.

Or, for that matter, returning at all.

The first thing San saw when the gates had finally risen was Gonza with two armed guards at his side. He ordered that they take Jigo to the makeshift jail the town had. One guard took Jigo while the other followed him with a naginata at the ready. Gonza escorted the two while Eboshi approached San. She could tell by her face that the Wolf Girl was experiencing a mix of emotions, none of which were joy.

"Is there something wrong, girl?" Eboshi asked, "Ashitaka hasn't returned and you appear to be unsettled."

"Ashitaka was hurt," San replied in what was barely more than a whisper, "He asked to stay back in the forest to face the demon. I don't know how he is faring now."

"Surely his wounds are not too bad if he wished to remain in the forest."

"No, they appeared to be serious, but I'm not too sure. He was stabbed in the stomach. I… I stabbed him."

"What?" Eboshi looked at San as her expression of mixed emotions turned into rage and then into sorrow. She had never seen the Wolf Girl look as if she was going to break down.

San did her best to hide her emotions from Eboshi, but she knew it wasn't working. She swiftly turned around and asked her brothers to go and see if they could find Ashitaka. The two wolves nodded and ran off into the forest. Tears welled in her eyes but she did not allow them to fall. Nothing would embarrass her more than crying in front of a human, especially that woman. "I'll be going now." She told Eboshi.

"Wait, Wolf Girl, I want to know what happened. Did you hurt him by accident or-"

"Shut up!" San shouted. Many of the townspeople looked to see what was happening but Eboshi ordered them to get back to what they were doing earlier. "I was angry, I wanted that human dead but Ashitaka wouldn't let me kill him. I just…" San could sense feel her voice breaking, "I just became so angry that I wasn't thinking and I just…"

"That's all I wanted to know, girl. We have Jigo now and I'm going to question him more. I don't quite care what you do at this point but I would appreciate it if you found Ashitaka and made sure he was alive. He has been good to this town and I would like to know his condition."

San, still not looking up, nodded and ran off to the forest to find Ashitaka. Eboshi watched her off with pity. She had never seen San in such a state. Most of the time she saw her, she would have a knife in her hand with the intent to kill her. But that was the past and she was Ashitaka's wife now. She would not want to hurt her mate purposely.

San thought of calling for Okami and Urufu but decided against it; she wanted to be alone for a while. Her desire for solitude did not keep her from searching for Ashitaka, however, and she continued on to the pond where she last left him. She kept her spear ready just in case she encountered the demon, though she doubted that her weapon would have any effect on the monster, considering the bullets from the humans' guns did not even scratch it. Still, it gave her some security and a fighting chance if it did show itself to her. Though if it did attack her, she would probably attack once to see what would happen and then decide what to do once she saw if her weapons would affect the spider or not.

When she arrived at the pond, she saw a trail of blood leading out from the wall of spider webs that she and Ashitaka went through to reach Jigo. She thought of following it but first wanted to see if Ashitaka was still near the pond, or worse. She crept up to the loose collection of webs and peeked around the corner. On the island, she saw the demon. It was not facing her and appeared to be hurt. When she looked closer, she saw a trail of black blood leading from nearby a tree to the island. Nearby the tree the black blood had formed a small puddle next to a smaller pool of red blood that was close to a trail of more red blood. She guessed that it was Ashitaka's but could not believe that the demon was actually hurt. She wanted to investigate more but did not want to attract the beast's attention. She first wanted to find Ashitaka and, if she could, find out how he wounded the demon.

She followed the trail of red blood, faint as it was, until she was now on a hill overlooking a stream. She guessed that Ashitaka would be nearby and slid down the hill on her feet. When she got to the bottom of the hill, she looked around for any possible sign of Ashitaka. She continued along the stream, following the direction that the water flowed. She occasionally looked behind her to make sure the demon was not following her but only did so once in a while, as it appeared to be badly hurt when she last saw it. She could not see very far; the morning was still young and the sun had not yet fully risen.

* * *

 

Ashitaka awoke to find the night had passed and it was now dusk. The knife wound -which had unceremoniously replaced his bullet wound- burned painfully. His sleeve was wet from last night, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. He still had no idea where the demon was or if it had hurt San or the wolves. He was also wondering if San had killed Jigo instead of bringing him to Irontown. The worst thing that could have happened is if the demon had killed San, her brothers, and then attacked Irontown, but he knew this wasn't the case. He could almost sense that San was okay.

With great effort he was able to get onto his feet and start walking. He clutched his wound, which had at this point stopped bleeding, and started walking along the stream, following the path that the water was flowing. He occasionally stumbled and had to walk slowly to prevent aggravating his wound. He remembered what happened the last time he put too much strain on himself, and that wound was stitched and almost healed.

Ashitaka was soon overcome with a burning thirst and stopped to get water from the stream. He had his red clay bowl with him and was surprised it hadn't broken or even cracked. He sat down and dipped the bowl into the stream. He drank four bowls of water before he stood up to continue again. That was when he heard what sounded like rustling in a few nearby bushes. He drew his sword slowly, not taking any chances, and carefully approached the bushes.

* * *

 

San had been walking for several hours now and had become hungry. She had brought some meat with her and decided to rest for a while. She had not been following the stream very closely and had been walking several feet away from its edge for some time now. There were many bushes and low tree tops in front of her, making it hard to see ahead. She decided to sit near a tree that was located near a bunch of bushes and eat. She dropped herself on the ground, causing the bushes to shake a little. She reached into a pouch she had with her and was about to grab some dried meat when she heard what sounded like a sword, knife, or other weapon being drawn from its sheathe. She knew it could be either Ashitaka or somebody else, possibly one of Jigo's hunters. She spread the leaves of the bushes to see who was there and saw Ashitaka approaching with his sword drawn. She must have startled him when she shook the bushes.

"Ashitaka!" San called from the bushes. She stood back up and made her way through the leaves to see him. He sheathed his sword the moment he heard her call him and went over to hug him. They held each other tightly, tight enough for Ashitaka to make a small grunt in pain. "I'm sorry for what happened."

"No, I understand why you would be angry." Ashitaka reassured her, "I would probably want Jigo dead myself if he was responsible for my family's death."

"I was worried about you. I went over to the pond and saw the demon and a trail of your blood leading away. The demon looked badly hurt; do you know what caused that?"

"That was probably from when I shot him with one of my arrows. It went right through him and he never regenerated his wounds. Is it dead?"

"It looked like it was badly hurt but it wasn't dead."

"I still don't know how I hurt it. It was my last arrow so I don't know if that had anything to do with it or if I hit it in a weak point."

"We can figure that out later; that human is in the custody of the other humans. He may be able to tell us more."

"Yes, let's-" Ashitaka felt a sudden, stinging pain in his stomach and stopped speaking momentarily, "Let's go back to Irontown."

"Oh no, how bad did your cut become?"

"I'll be fine, San, I just need to get it bandaged."

San nodded, but a look of displeasure appeared on her face. "I just thought we would be able to spend more time together in the forest. I can barely stand that place even after a week there."

"We don't need to stay there, we just need to see if Jigo knows a way to defeat the monster and get this gash patched up. We should also visit the apes sometime later and see what happened to them."

"Okami and Urufu already told me; they said it didn't go very well for them."

Ashitaka understood and nodded. As he feared, he, San, and her brothers would have to face this demon on their own. They knew that Jigo would not help them fight it directly, though he may tell of any ways to defeat, if he even knew any. San and Ashitaka looked for the two wolves and eventually found them searching a cave. Ashitaka told them what he had told San about how he escaped from the demon. The wolves believed that the underbelly may have been the demon's weak point and that Ashitaka hit a particularly soft spot on its body. Nevertheless, they had no clear conclusion and had to go to Jigo to see if he had any idea on how to defeat the monster. Ashitaka knew San didn't like it; he didn't much like it either.


	10. Under Pressure

The ride back to Irontown took a longer time than usual due to the gash in Ashitaka's stomach causing him great pain. He didn't know how far the wound went but it still bled a little. The pain was great and burned worse than fire. They stopped twice during the ride back and had to travel at a much slower pace. By the time they reached Irontown, it was morning the next day. The familiar sound of the gates being pulled up by ten men greeted them as they rode to the entrance of the town. Ashitaka and San dismounted the wolves when the gate was completely opened; Okami and Urufu waited outside.

Ashitaka and San immediately went to Lady Eboshi's home. Ashitaka quickly greeted the villagers who said hello to him while continuing to walk. San kept her head down, still uneasy around humans as ever, and kept close to Ashitaka. The town had made great progress from where it was when Ashitaka had last set foot inside. Many of the buildings that were being repaired had been rebuilt and all but a couple of the remaining buildings were being worked on. It wouldn't be much longer until Irontown had been rebuilt, which was why Ashitaka wanted to defend the townspeople from the demon within the forest.

Gonza greeted the two when they arrived at Lady Eboshi's house. Ashitaka bowed and went inside readily, though San was hesitant to enter the building. Gonza asked if Eboshi wanted her to come inside, to which she replied yes.

"Come on, San," Ashitaka said with an outstretched hand, the same one which he covered his wound with earlier, "there is nothing to be afraid of. It's just like my house, just much bigger."

"I'm not afraid, just curious." San muttered as she took his hand and came inside. The inside of Eboshi's house was made with the same materials that had built Ashitaka's dwelling. It was much bigger; the main room itself was almost as twice as large as the one in Ashitaka's house. San saw that there was a level above them. When she and Ashitaka were approaching the building, she saw what may have been a third floor, though it was not the same size as the others. San also noticed the decorations throughout the house. On the walls hung several paintings, some swords, and a few scrolls with writing on them, though San could read none of it since her mother only taught her how to speak the humans' language, not read it.

Eboshi led them to the main room and to a table in its center. Ashitaka sat on one end and Eboshi on the other; San sat next to Ashitaka while her eyes continued to wander throughout the room. To Ashitaka this scene was familiar; the only difference was that San was with him. Eboshi asked San if she wanted any tea.

"What is tea?" San asked. She had only heard of tea during her week-long visit to Irontown, though she herself had never tasted it before.

"It's a human drink," Ashitaka answered, "It's a mixture of water and tea leaves. You can also add honey or sugar if you want."

"Oh… I guess I'll try some."

Eboshi called for one of her servants to bring them three cups of tea before she returned her attention to Ashitaka and San. "I assume you two are here to ask if I've found out anything from Jigo." Ashitaka nodded in response. "That monk is a stubborn one. He won't tell us a thing, not where his men are hidden, not why he is here, and nothing about the demon in the forest. We haven't hurt him but I fear it may eventually come to that if he continues to remain silent."

"I don't want to do that," Ashitaka said, "We shouldn't torture him just to make him talk. It's wrong."

"Boy, that monk would have gladly hung you with a hook in your shoulders while he cut your arms and legs with a rusty knife just to make you talk. He would probably do even worse things to your mate."

"I can make him talk," San said suddenly, "and I can do it without laying a hand on him."

"Oh? Tell me how." Eboshi ordered.

"I can just scare him into telling me. He knows Ashitaka would never touch him but he knows I hate human, him especially."

"I actually think that may work. Very well then; Ashitaka, bring her down to the prison and see what she'll do with Jigo, after we drink of course."

After they had had tea with Eboshi, which San had thought tasted very good and much better than expected, Ashitaka took San to the prison. The prison was a crude structure made of wood with bars made of bamboo. Two guards, who were only a couple of townspeople armed with naginatas, waited outside to ensure that none of the prisoners tried to escape. There were three cells in total. The cells had no proper floor which made the prisoners sleep on the ground, though there was hay throughout the cells along with a blanket for sleeping. Two of the three cells were occupied; one of them was occupied by the hunter who had shot Ashitaka, the other held Jigo.

San stormed past the two guards when they asked if she wanted to see one of the prisoners. Ashitaka whispered to them why they were there so that Jigo could not overhear them. San took the keys from one of them while they were being spoken to and unlocked Jigo's door. His eyes brightened up and dimmed down in an instant when, instead of being released, the Wolf Girl entered his cage. She drew her knife in one hand and grabbed Jigo's shirt with the other.

"Careful there, girl," Jigo said unsteadily, "You wouldn't hurt me, not with that boy out there, at least."

"I don't care if he sees," San growled, "And I doubt that he would care if I killed you."

Ashitaka looked on with his eyes straight at Jigo. His face displayed apathy, though inside he feared that San would go too far and possibly injure, or even kill, Jigo. San drove the monk to the wall of the prison, causing the shaky bars to wobble slightly. She barred her teeth and pressed the knife up to Jigo's throat. She growled at him and snapped her head forward as if to give him a head-butt, though she stopped just before her forehead made contact with his nose and he thrust his head to the side.

"What can I tell you? I don't know anything about this forest demon."

"You lie!" San shouted as she pressed the knife so hard onto Jigo's throat that she thought she may have accidentally drawn blood. Ashitaka almost called off the interrogation but he hoped San would not actually hurt the monk. He knew she wanted him dead very badly and that now was the perfect opportunity to eliminate him. He didn't know how he himself would react if Jigo ended up dead because of his mate. Yes, the monk had tried to kill him and San, but he was still strongly against killing people. The fact that Jigo was defenseless and already in a prison was enough to satisfy him and he didn't want Jigo to die but he did want him to right his wrongs.

"Ashitaka, you have to call her off. I honestly don't know anything about Kumo." Jigo realized what he had just said and immediately shut his mouth.

"Wait a second, about whom?" Ashitaka asked.

"Tell me now, human," San growled, "Or I'll do to you what that woman did to my mother!"

"Alright, I'll talk!" Jigo exclaimed as he broke under pressure.

"Good." San muttered as she dropped him to the floor. Ashitaka entered the cell and stood by her as they waited for Jigo to begin speaking. "I told you I wouldn't kill him." She whispered to Ashitaka.

"Thank you." Ashitaka whispered back.

"I don't know much about the demon," Jigo began, "I only know that it was created when my hunters accidentally shot a giant spider when they tried killing your brothers. The spider had apparently been enraged its entire life and the bullet acted as a catalyst to make it into the demon it is now. It killed most of my men and I barely escaped while you two were able to sneak away. It caught up with me anyhow and it was about to kill me when it proposed an idea to me: I somehow lure you two into finding me and it would let me live. I agreed and you two showed up and here we are now."

"I want to kill him very badly, Ashitaka." San muttered.

"Please try not to." Ashitaka joked.

"That's all I know." Jigo said. "The only other thing I know is that it calls itself Kumo because it told me its name when it was it told its story."

"What about the apes? What happened to them?"

"I was there when it happened. The apes threw rocks and sticks at the thing, as if that was supposed to work. I suppose the rocks annoyed the creature, but it still took down many of them. Some were able to scratch it with their teeth and nails but they were overpowered far too quickly to cause any real damage."

Ashitaka looked to San, who shrugged her shoulders indicating that she didn't see much of a connection yet. They told Jigo that they may return later.

"That didn't tell us much except for the creature's name." San said as they returned to the gates.

"He said that the demon had been annoyed when the apes threw rocks at it," Ashitaka said, "and that it was scratched by their claws. The only thing that caused more damage than that was one of my arrows."

"Maybe the monster regenerated the scratches after a while. It could just be that the human had not taken a second look."

"That's possible, but I feel there may be some sort of connection."

As the two reached the gate, Ashitaka waved goodbye to the gatekeepers as they closed the several hundred pound gate behind the two. They then looked for Urufu and Okami but found they weren't around the area. Ashitaka asked one of the women on the ramparts if she had seen where they had gone. The woman told them that the wolves suddenly took off into the forest with their ears perked up.

"Perhaps they heard the demon, Kumo." Ashitaka said.

"But that means that it could be near." San told him, "What if it comes here?"

"I don't know for sure, but we had better get to where your brothers are and fast. I don't want either of them to get hurt."

San nodded and the two ran to the forest. Ashitaka realized he had yet to bandage his wounds but he fought through the pain. He had his sword drawn in case he would need it and San held her spear tightly in one hand. As they passed the forest's edge, they heard a loud howling coming from deeper within the forest, followed by barking and growling. San knew it was her brothers and began to sprint to the origin of the sound. Ashitaka barely managed to keep up with her as he kept one hand on his gash to prevent any further bleeding to occur.

When San and Ashitaka reached the origin of the sound, they found Urufu panting with several bruises and cuts on him. Not far in front of him was the great demon Kumo. In the demon's fangs, San's eldest brother, Okami, hung limp and unmoving.


	11. Weak Point

San gasped in disgust when she saw her brother hanging from the demon's jaws. The monster stared back at her with its red glowing eyes as it shifted its fangs, causing them to dig even deeper into Okami's body. Urufu, who was visibly drained of energy, could only watch helplessly as his brother being tortured by the demon which called itself Kumo. He could tell that Okami was still alive by the way his chest expanded with every painful breath he drew. Ashitaka would have charged at the demon in an instant if he hadn't known of the creature's speed and power.

"At last, my prey has fallen into the web," Kumo taunted, "These pathetic wolves were no match for me. I was barely able to have fun with this one until he passed out from the pain I caused his body. The smaller wolf, there, he was already out of energy when I was about to make my move on him." Kumo at last released Okami from his jaws, throwing the unconscious wolf to the side with great strength. "The gods of this forest have grown weak and you two humans who dwell within the trees are mere ants."

"I'm no human!" San shouted as she charged towards the beast with her spear in hand. Kumo stood ready to counter her attack. Ashitaka called for her to stop, but she was deafened by rage and blinded by hate. As she was within two feet of the spider demon, Kumo swatted her aside with one of his eight black legs, knocking her into a tree with a loud smacking sound. San dropped her spear upon contact with the tree and dropped seven feet to the forest floor, landing with a thud.

"San!" Ashitaka called, but the demon leapt in front of him and blocked his path.

"The girl is weak, as are you." Kumo said, "You are both mortals in the lands of gods and demons. You have no place here."

"Why are you doing this? The humans and the forest are at peace! We have no reason to fight any longer."

"Wrong! The humans in the town may not destroy the forest, but thousands more around the lands do. There is nothing you can do to prevent them from continuing the rape of nature. For the forest to heal the humans must die; no one deserves it more."

Behind the spider demon, San struggled to get off her hands and feet. The blow was painful and made her wobbly. Urufu came to her and gave his back as support. She lifted herself on him with her knife in hand. She was preparing to attack the demon again.

"San, don't!" Ashitaka shouted when he saw what she was going to do. San looked to him with softened eyes, but they soon blazed with anger when she saw Okami's limp body.

"Do not worry, girl," Kumo said, "The wolf is not dead, and he is very much alive. You may find, however, he is no longer an ally of yours."

"What are you talking about?" San questioned. She shot her gaze back to Okami, who was now trying to stand, uneasily, on his bruised and bleeding legs. "No, stay back, we can't fight this thing head on."

"Forgive me, sister." The large wolf said as he glared at San. His strength suddenly returned to him and most of his wounds healed instantly; the only wounds that did not heal were the bite marks left by Kumo's fangs.

"San, get back!" Urufu commanded. San was about to ask why when she saw her eldest brother leap into the air and towards her. Urufu jumped towards his larger and stronger brother and knocked him aside with a head-butt. "Go help your mate while I try to hold back our brother."

"You cannot save him," Kumo laughed, "My presence ensures that he remains under my control."

San spat at the spider demon and charged at him, screaming with a knife raised to attack. This time, Kumo merely stood and allowed for San's blow to land. She plunged the knife deep into the eyes of the beast over and over again until its eyes were nothing but a red mass of mush. The moment she pulled her knife away from its face, the eyes became perfect glowing spheres once more. Kumo laughed as ten of the large black tentacles writhing on his back shot into the air and then down towards San. She jumped out of the way just before they came within inches of where she was. Ashitaka jumped onto the creatures back with his sword in hand and began to cut away at the tentacles. Kumo mere chuckled as if the cuts were tickles and grabbed Ashitaka's arms with his tentacles. Ashitaka struggled against the strength of the spider demon and was unable to pull himself free. San came to help him and tried to pry off the tentacles but found she wasn't able to make them budge either. Urufu was now dodging his brother's attacks. He may have been weaker and smaller, but he was much faster than Okami.

Two more of Kumo's tentacles rose up from his back and grabbed San by her arms. The spider demon lifted San like a piece of paper and made her hand in front of his mass of red eyes. San tried to kick the demon but was out of reach. Ashitaka still struggled to free himself from the demon's grasp. He had dropped his sword and had no more weapons he could use to even try and cut his way out. Then he remembered the crystal dagger in his pocket. As tiny as it was, is was his best chance of his escape, as he was not strong enough to power his way out of Kumo's hold.

Ashitaka used all of his strength to reach into his pocket. The demon was no longer using as much strength as before to restrain him. This may have been because it was now focusing on San or that it didn't think it required any more power to hold back Ashitaka. Either way, it was just the right amount for Ashitaka to be able to move his arms and take the crystal dagger from his pocket. Two more tentacles shot from the demon's back and gripped San by the legs, grabbing her just below the knees.

"I'm going to rip you in half," Kumo said in his deep, guttural voice, "Then I'm going to rip your friend's head off and gain control of your other brother."

San didn't scream or beg for mercy or cry for help. She barred her teeth and stared at the monster with intense hatred. She tried to fight her way out of his grip once more but still didn't have enough strength to do so. Ashitaka heard what the demon had said and mustered up all of his strength into this one attack. With lightning speed and great power, he slashed at one of the tentacles holding his arms. To his surprise, not only did the dagger create a large gash in the tentacles, it caused the monster to roar in pain; the wound did not regenerate.

Kumo launched Ashitaka off of his back and to the ground. The demon muttered something as it also dropped San and retreated back into the woods. Ashitaka managed to land on his hands and feet rather than on his back. San brushed off the leaves and twigs on her clothes as she stood from the ground. As the demon disappeared from view, Okami suddenly stopped battling his younger brother and collapsed to the ground. San and Ashitaka immediately went to his side.

"That demon," Okami mumbled, "It's stronger than I anticipated. How… how did you drive it off?"

"I just slashed at it with my dagger," Ashitaka replied, "The wound it caused didn't heal and seemed to cause the creature great pain." Ashitaka showed them the black blood on the crystal before cleaning it off on his sleeve. He handed it to San, who put the dagger back around her neck.

"At least we know the demon is hurt by this dagger," San said, "There must be something about it that makes it special." San looked at the tiny crystal dagger, wondering what about it was able to harm the demon, before she let it drop back into place. "Brother, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine for now," Okami replied as he stood back onto his feet, "The demon's control over me is broken and my wounds appear to have healed. My strength, however, has left me, and I don't know how long it will be until it has returned."

"We have to return back to the den. The demon hasn't discovered it yet and it ran off in the opposite direction." Ashitaka nodded in agreement. They made sure that Okami was able to walk before they continued. Neither Ashitaka nor San rode on Urufu's back; he was out of energy and they were already faster than Okami at the moment.

Back at the den, Okami rested inside the cave while San and Ashitaka took care of him; Urufu kept watch above them. The elder wolf insisted he required nothing except for San and Ashitaka to make sure that the demon did not find the den. They did so and sat with Urufu as they kept watchful for the demon. It was a very boring task, but it was necessary for them to be sure that they would be safe if the spider demon decided to show its face around the area.

When night at last fell, Okami returned from the cave, his strength having returned to him. They asked if he was truly able to watch that night, to which the wolf replied that he was. Urufu stayed outside with his brother while San and Ashitaka went down to the cave to rest. Ashitaka sat on the mat he slept on while San threw herself onto hers. Ashitaka went over to her to see what was wrong. When he got to her, she was shaking. He gave her a light shake on her shoulder, to which she turned her face to him. Tears were welled up in her eyes but she didn't allow them to fall.

"It's alright," Ashitaka whispered, "I don't care if you cry, San; it doesn't make you weak."

"It's just," San said softly before choking on a sob, "Okami, Urufu, and you are the only family I have left. If I lose them… there will be no one left except for you, and I almost killed you."

"It will be alright, San. I lost my family when I was forced to leave my village after Nago touched me. I didn't have much hope and had less than a year to live. Even if I was cured, my people wouldn't allow me to return, as I was dead in their eyes for having left the village. I didn't think I would have anything to live for… then I saw you."

San and Ashitaka sat silently. Ashitaka stroked her short brown hair with one hand while holding her waist with the other. San held Ashitaka close as she allowed the tears which stung her eyes to fall. She rarely cried, she didn't even cry when Moro died, though she did later on when she had time to mourn her mother's death. Ashitaka began to think of his own family. He had only known his mother for a short time, as she died giving birth to his younger sister, Kaya. He missed her greatly and often wondered how she was faring. He wondered who the Emishi had chosen to lead the village; if it were up to him, he would have made Kaya the new princess of his people. He missed his home but he could not return; he had a new home and new family with San.

An hour before midnight had fallen, San had fallen asleep, curled up in her wolf pelt. Ashitaka was still awake and sat at the cliff's edge, listening for any of the forest creatures that came out at night. He heard almost none of them except for a couple of crickets. He hadn't heard any of them since Jigo awakened the demon. Perhaps they were hiding from the demon; perhaps its presence caused them to go silent. It didn't feel right to him. Okami and Urufu were still watching with alert eyes and ears. They didn't even look tired despite being up for hours. After a half an hour, he went back inside and began to fall asleep next to San. Tomorrow, they would have to find a way to defeat Kumo, the Spider Demon. All Ashitaka knew at the moment was the only weapons that were able to harm the demon were his crystal dagger and his stone arrow. They would need to find a connection between the two the next morning.


	12. Demon's Bane

San awoke at twilight with Ashitaka lying down next to her and her brothers at the mouth of the cave. The wolves had fallen asleep just a few hours after she and Ashitaka had gone to bed. She did not sleep very well. Her slumber was haunted by the sounds of the forest she was so used to. They had only begun to bother her because of the spider demon. Every falling branch, each tumbling rock, and each landing lark caused her attention level to spike. Ashitaka appeared to have slept through it all. Surprising, considering he was a human.

San sat crossed leg and took some dried meat from her bag to eat for breakfast. The sound her ripping the meat apart with her teeth caused Urufu to wake.

"Don't worry," San said, "There isn't anything nearby."

"One can never be too sure, sister," Urufu said, "this demon we are fighting was once a spider. They are silent creatures who never make a sound with the steps they take. Even this enlarged one which calls itself Kumo makes no noise when it leaps to attack." Urufu stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff edge. The sky was dark blue with a reddish-pink horizon. There was not one cloud in the sky. The forest stood silent as it had for the past several days since the incident that created the spider demon. "What should we do now? Your mate is still hurt and though he was able to harm the demon, we still do not know what exactly caused its pain."

"I'm going to help Ashitaka first. The wound in his side looks like it's becoming infected."

"He seemed fine yesterday."

"He's strong but I don't think he'd want the gash left untreated." San went over to the small pile made of her pelt, Ashitaka's sleeves, and their various weapons and pouches. She put on her pelt, keeping the mask up, and took her knife and spear with her. "I'm going to find some plants or herbs that will help him."

"I'm going with you. Okami can stay back and make sure the demon doesn't discover our home."

San nodded and mounted Urufu as she stepped out of the cave. The wolf leapt down the side of the cliff and the two siblings immediately made their way to the forest.

"By the way," Urufu said as he was running, "Should we go and get your mate's elk, Yakul?"

"I'm sure he'd be happy to see Ashitaka again," San replied, "We should get him after we find what we need."

Ashitaka woke up from the pain in his side. By now it didn't bother him too much, but it did hurt when he sat up. He removed his shirt to see how the wound had healed. While it had scabbed over, for the most, but he knew he had to keep it from becoming even dirtier than it was. The cut was deep and Ashitaka had fallen into the dirt more than once. It had probably been infected by now.

Ashitaka looked around the cave for San but found she had left some time before.

"She left with Urufu," Okami told him when he saw Ashitaka awake, "They went to go find some things to help your injury." The large wolf stood on his four paws and walked into the cave. He went up to Ashitaka and seemed to examine him, his brown eyes moving up and down as he circled Ashitaka. "What is it you saw in my sister?"

"What?" Ashitaka asked. He didn't expect to be asked such a question at the moment.

"You heard me clearly. You are a human and you live with other humans within the safety of a walled town. She is a wolf who lives in the much more dangerous forest. There are so many other women in that town who adore you and you would have a much easier relationship with them. So why is it you chose my sister over them?"

"I chose her for who she is," Ashitaka replied, "I grew up very close to nature in my home village and not in large towns like the one I live in now. The women in the town are also too… flirtatious, but that's just because of their pasts."

"Hm. My sister speaks highly of you for similar reasons. Perhaps I didn't make a mistake by not killing you when we first met."

"And I'm glad you didn't."

"Now we need to get back on topic, however. Did you find any weakness in the demon the day before? The last thing I remember before falling unconscious was the demon was hurt by the dagger you gave to San."

"Didn't Urufu tell you anything?"

"No, we remained silent to make sure we would be able to hear all that goes on within the forest." Okami paused and turned his head to the forest. "We didn't hear much."

"I noticed it, too. Not even the kodama have appeared. The forest feels almost as if it was dead, like when the forest spirit died."

"That demon we are facing is the exact opposite of what the forest spirit was. It cares only for destruction and little for nature. It is an evil entity which we must destroy."

"We still need to find its weakness. I can't just keep using that dagger; it will break before it has damaged the demon enough to destroy it."

"What about your arrows? They harmed the demon in the past."

"I don't have any more, though I can simply make more out of stone. I'll make more once San gets back."

Okami nodded and went back to the outside of the cave to watch for the demon. Ashitaka took some water from a waterskin he had bought in Irontown several weeks ago and poured some water on the wound. The cold water was refreshing to feel on the once burning wound. He didn't bother to dry himself before he put his shirt back on. Knowing that he'd be going out today, though likely later than sooner, he also put on his sleeves and took the gear he would need: his bowl, his sword, and his belt along with the pouches he had attached to it. He went to sit on the ledge to watch for Kumo with Okami.

After a couple of uneventful hours of waiting, most of which Ashitaka spent trying to think of a way to defeat Kumo, he and Okami caught sight of Urufu and San returning to the den. Following them was Yakul. Ashitaka was overjoyed to see his old friend. He ran down the ledge to meet them, ignoring the pain he felt in his side. San jumped of Urufu and ran up to him and the two met with an embrace.

"Did you run into any trouble?" Ashitaka asked.

"No, we didn't really run into anything," San replied, "Most of the forest creatures have gone into hiding because of the demon."

"We'll find a way to defeat it. I can't talk or reason with it so we're going to have to fight it."

"I'm sorry, Ashitaka, I know you hate killing things, but there is no way around it this time."

"I know. I need to go and collect rocks in the forest so I can make arrows out of them. They hurt the demon before, it should work again."

"Alright, but first let me make a paste with these." San poured the contents of a tiny brown bag into the palm of her hand, revealing various roots, leaves, and what looked like some sort of berries. "My mother would rub these on my cuts when I was younger."

San went up to the den to go and make the paste. Ashitaka spent a few minutes with Yakul before going to help San. Okami and Urufu stayed outside; Urufu stayed on the bottom to make sure Yakul didn't go wandering off. He knew the elk was smarter than that, but he didn't want to take any chances and possibly let him be killed by the demon. Okami moved to the cave's roof and peered over the tree tops of the forest. No birds were flying or chirping and the grass remained still. The only sounds he could hear came from his brother's footsteps or Ashitaka and San below him.

In the den, San had made a crude mortar and pestle using a few stones she found while she was gathering the herbs they needed. She threw in everything at once and began to mash them into a paste. Ashitaka couldn't find much that he could help with, so he sat and thought of more ways they could defeat the demon. Making more arrows was, for him, the best idea, as he didn't want to risk having to go for a close attack every time they wanted to hurt Kumo.

After ten minutes of crushing and mixing the ingredients, the final product was a green and white paste that had the consistency of a very thick soup. Ashitaka lifted his shirt so San could apply the paste. The first time she rubbed it on the gash on his stomach, he let out a grunt as the paste settled in, causing him to feel a piercing pain. San told him it was normal and would be gone in less than half a minute. She told him that he would have to wait for an hour or two before the paste dried, so the two lied down next to each other and began talking. Eventually, their conversation came down to the one thing on everybody's minds: the Spider Demon.

"How long do you think it will take you to make more arrows?" San asked.

"I can make a quiver full in a day or two," Ashitaka replied, "It depends on the size and type of rocks that I use. Do you think we should bring your brothers to fight it?"

"Of course! They're fierce fighters and won't back down from some enlarged insect."

"You know it's more than that."

"I know, but my point is that even if I asked them to stay here, they'd go. They're much too proud to back down from a fight. Do you think anyone at that town can help?"

"Not really; we've seen that the demon is immune to swords and guns and that's all the townspeople have to fight with."

For the last few moments, the two remained lying next to each other in silence. Something in the back of Ashitaka's mind was bugging him. It was as if something was trying to draw a connection between two things that would help defeat the demon. Ashitaka knew that two things had harmed the spider thus far: his arrows and the crystal dagger.

 _What makes them the same?_  He wondered. He couldn't think of any connection between the two.  _They're both made from some sort of rock that can be found in nature. The crystal is naturally shaped like a dagger and I don't do much to the stones to turn them into arrowheads…_

San noticed that Ashitaka was thinking about something by the way he stared up at the ceiling blankly. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"The demon's weakness," Ashitaka replied, "I know that whatever it is, it causes the demon to be hurt by stone arrowheads or unusually sharp crystals."

"You mean that you didn't have to cut the crystal to make it into a knife?" San asked as she took the tiny crystal blade from her shirt and began to examine it.

"No, it was always like that. The arrowheads are similar. I barely touch the stones when I make them sharp enough to be usable."

"Maybe that's it." Ashitaka didn't know what San was talking about at first. As he thought about what she was saying, he began to realize what she meant. "Perhaps the demon can only be hurt by things that are found in nature."


	13. The Spider Demon's Puppets

Ashitaka and San went to the two wolves and told them that they may have found what the demon's weakness was. After explaining to the wolves how they thought the demon could only be hurt by things found in nature and unchanged by humans, the wolves began to think similarly. The wolves suggested they go to the forest now to find more stones for Ashitaka's arrows. San went to get her things while Ashitaka got onto Yakul. Urufu decided to stay back and guard the den while San rode on Okami.

The four traveled near the river to find the rocks Ashitaka needed. Most of the rocks there were flat enough to use but not too flat. Ashitaka also took some larger and thicker rocks so he could shape the smaller ones into arrowheads. All the while, they were watching for Kumo in case the demon decided to attack them now. It would be a perfect time to do so: they hadn't had any weapons that could harm the spider (except for the crystal dagger) and they were close to a river, making their only option of escape to run deeper into the forest. They knew that Kumo could be nearby; the Forest Spirit's Pond was not too far away.

After half an hour at the river, Ashitaka had gathered enough rocks to make a quiver full of arrows. They were about to leave until Okami stopped suddenly.

"What? What's wrong?" San asked.

"There, in the river," Okami replied, "I think I see an ape."

Ashitaka, who was closest to the river, dismounted from Yakul and went over to the spot indicated by Okami. Lying unconscious on the riverbank was a small brown ape. Ashitaka didn't know how long the ape had been there, but he knew it couldn't have been very long; the ape was still breathing and appeared to be moving his fingers. Ashitaka pulled the ape from the river and brought him onto the grass. He lightly shook the ape's shoulders to try and bring him to consciousness. After a moment, the ape opened its eyes.

"You… you are the man-creature who defended the forest?" The ape asked.

"Yes, I'm Ashitaka." Ashitaka replied.

"You must destroy the demon. It has turned my brothers and sisters into its puppets."

"What do you mean?"

"The demon, it does not kill. After many of us went to attack the demon against your warnings, they did not return for several days. Only yesterday did they return, but they were not who they once were. They came with the spider demon and began to fight those who did not go with them. They did not kill my clansmen; they brought their unconscious bodies to the demon. And then the demon bit into them, one by one. I watched as they rose from their stupor and began to bow to the demon, as if it were a god." The ape stood up from the ground and ran over to a tree and began to climb it. "You must stop the demon, or it will be the doom of us all!"

The ape began to leap through the tree tops and then disappeared into the forest. Ashitaka, somewhat unnerved by what he had heard, got back onto Yakul and rode next to San.

"I don't think the demon is going to kill us," San said, having overheard the conversation between Ashitaka and the ape, "It means to enslave us."

Ashitaka nodded but said nothing. He was only wondering what the demon could want. The only demons he had fought meant to kill and destroy, but not enslave humans or other animals. "Let's go." He said. Ashitaka remained silent for the entire ride back to the den. On the way back, they also collected some wood to make the arrow shafts and the things they needed to make the tails. When they got back, Ashitaka and San immediately went to working on making the arrowheads.

The process for making the arrows was not very difficult, the execution of it was. Ashitaka accidentally broke a few of the rocks he had gathered and some of the sticks snapped when he was placing the tails on them. After they finished, they had 17 arrows. They weren't of great quality but they would have to do. Ashitaka re-strung his bow while he was at it, having not done so for quite some time now.

Very suddenly, Urufu and Okami came running into the cave. "The apes are moving towards the human town." Okami said.

"What?!" Ashitaka exclaimed.

"The entirety of the ape clan is going towards the humans. They carry sharpened sticks and crude clubs with them."

"We have to hurry before they hurt somebody!" Ashitaka quickly gathered his weapons and got onto Yakul. San got on Okami's back and the two of them, along with Urufu, rode off towards Irontown to see if they could get there before the apes could. As they rushed through the forest, quickly dodging trees and jumping over large rocks and logs, the apes swung and jumped from tree to tree. Some carried stakes in their mouths while others had slings or wooden clubs with stone heads tied on the top. They seemed to ignore the five's presence; whether it was because they did not notice them or the demon did not want them to attack was unclear.

After they had gone on for quite some time, Ashitaka and San lost sight of the wolves. The group continued towards Irontown and reached the gates in the mid-afternoon. They were already open because the men had brought more rice to the town and were still going in. Ashitaka and San rode past them, being careful not to startle any of the oxen by accident. Eboshi, who was overseeing the men as they passed through, was surprised at their arrival and greeted them.

"Eboshi, you need to get some guards ready," Ashitaka told her, "The Ape Tribe is coming to Irontown under the command of the demon."

"Don't worry about it, Ashitaka," Lady Eboshi said, "I'll tell Gonza to tell the men and the girls to meet at the square. But why are the apes following the orders of the demon?"

"It's against their will. The demon has the power to take control of those that it bites into. Some of the apes tried to kill it several days ago and they were defeated. They came back to their tribe's home and defeated most of the remaining apes and offered them to the demon. Now, they're on their way here so they can probably do something similar."

"Well, I'm not going to sit by and let this town be destroyed again." Eboshi left them momentarily to tell Gonza to organize the townspeople to defend Irontown. As soon as the last ox had passed through and the gates had shut, Gonza began to shout orders. Eboshi asked for Ashitaka and San to come with her back to her home. She invited them inside while Yakul and the wolves waited outside. They sat with her at the table in the center of the main room. "Have you learned anything new about the demon?"

"Yes. It calls itself Kumo and we know it can be hurt by these." Ashitaka showed her the stone arrows he had made earlier while San flashed the dagger around her neck. "It can probably be hurt by anything that is found in nature and kept unchanged by human hands."

"That would explain why Jigo's bullets and spears didn't harm the beast. Do you know how this thing was able to take control of the apes?"

"It bit into their unconscious bodies and they soon revived. The ape we spoke to, one of the few who escaped, said they bow to the demon as if they were worshiping it."

"Gods worshiping demons…"

"Lady Eboshi, I know you are about to deal with the arrival of the Ape Tribe, but may I ask you if you will be able to send some men or some of the girls to help us defeat the demon once we find it?"

"Of course I'll allow it. In fact, I already know who I'll send: Me, Gonza, and Jigo."

Ashitaka was astonished. "Lady Eboshi, are you sure?"

"I insist; I want to see this thing with my own eyes and I want to make sure that it dies before it can bring any harm to my people. I'd send some of the other townspeople but most of them aren't very well suited for combat. Besides, I need them to defend Irontown when the apes arrive."

"Alright, but we will have to hurry if we are going to leave before the apes arrive."

"Milady!" Gonza called as he suddenly burst through the front door, "Milady, there are apes outside the walls and they're trying to get in! Two people have already been injured by them."

"So much for leaving before they apes got here." Eboshi muttered, "Gonza, I want you to arm as many people as we can."

"Already done, milady, but there are a lot of them."

"Well, Ashitaka, it looks like we're going to have to fight our way out of Irontown. Ashitaka, are you sure you can still swing a sword? I heard you had been hurt not too long ago."

"I'm fine now," Ashitaka replied, "you don't have to worry about me."

"Gonza, get my sword, your naginata, two rifles, and Jigo."

"Wait, you want me to get him?!" Gonza exclaimed.

"We might need him if we're going to take down the demon that's been causing all of this."

"Very well." Gonza left the house and went to the armory to fetch the weapons before retrieving Jigo at the makeshift jail in the town. Eboshi told Ashitaka and San to go ahead of her because she needed to wait for Gonza to return with her weapon. The two obliged and dashed out of the house. What awaited them outside was a chaotic scene.

At the front wall there were apes crawling over the wooden spikes with their weapons in their mouths. They were running on the tops of houses and jumping in and out of buildings. On the ground, townspeople were fighting the larger and much stronger apes with the weapons provided to them. Some of the humans were winning but some of the apes were able to overpower their opponents. The apes were not killing the townspeople as Ashitaka guessed; they first hurt their targets and then knocked them out with a blow to the head with one of their giant fists.

Ashitaka and San went over to help one townsperson who was struggling with an ape that was roughly her height. The two were pushing against each other with the shafts of their weapons; the ape appeared to be winning the struggle as he began to push his club against the woman's naginata's shaft. San got behind the possessed ape and cut the back of its knees with her knife, causing it to fall over with a loud thud as the woman jumped back. Another ape came charging at San with a makeshift spear. Ashitaka charged at the ape from the side and cut it down several yards before it reached San. All around them, the apes and the townspeople fought each other in a massive battle royal. Nobody could tell which side was winning. Riflemen on the ramparts and on rooftops fired down at the apes. Some hit their marks but the apes were fast enough to dodge the bullets when they heard the familiar click of the flint coming down to propel the bullet. The apes who fought their enemies in melee were often strong enough to break the humans' weapons before taking them down.

Ashitaka and San went to assist more of the townspeople in combat before Gonza, Jigo, and Lady Eboshi appeared near the front gate. They noticed that the gate had been smashed through by the apes, leaving a gaping hole in the center. Jigo and Gonza were firing at the apes crawling over the walls while Lady Eboshi cut down those who were coming through the hole. For a woman with one arm, she fought very well with a sword.

"Lady Eboshi!" Ashitaka called as he and San went over to her, "Will the townspeople be able to hold out if you're gone?"

"I've left several people in charge while I'm away," Eboshi replied, "they'll be able to handle things until we return. Let's go now, before more of these apes show up." The five of them rushed outside the gates just as the last few apes (that had showed up, at least) had made it over the walls. Outside, Okami and Urufu stood with blood around their mouths. Yakul was standing near them, though the elk was more scared and confused than he was ready to fight. Ashitaka gave him a reassuring pat on the head and then mounted him. San chose not to ride either of her brothers and went with the group on foot. Now that they had assembled, they had to find Kumo and defeat him to end the terror he had brought upon the forest.

They didn't have to look very far to find the demon. Atop the hill near Irontown, the Spider was watching as the apes began to wreak havoc on the town. It had shown up so it could turn the humans into its puppets sooner. The demon was quick to spot the group which had come to fight him and fled into the forest.

"Why'd he run away?" Gonza asked, puzzled.

"It knows it has an advantage in the forest," San replied, "It can hide anywhere and can have a few traps laid out for us."

"Maybe we should split up, then," Jigo suggested, "we can hit the thing from two sides and it will have a harder time trying to take us all on."

"Who do you think should go with whom?" Ashitaka asked.

"Well, boy, you're pretty good at fighting so you should go with, I don't know, one other person?"

While Ashitaka knew that hitting the demon from two sides was a good idea, he didn't know how they would do so until he got the two groups right. He turned to Lady Eboshi, Okami and Urufu, San, Gonza, and Jigo and began to decide on whom to bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should point out that there was a poll on my fanfiction.net profile when this was first posted to see who would go with Ashitaka. The result wasn't much of a surprise.


	14. Confrontation at the Pond

"I choose San." Ashitaka said. Nobody was truly astonished with his choice. San nodded and got onto Yakul, sitting behind Ashitaka.

"Take care, sister." Okami said.

"Don't worry, Ashitaka, we'll be alright." Eboshi assured.

"After you kill the demon," Gonza growled, "bring me to its body. I'm going to burn it to make sure it never comes back."

Ashitaka took note of what Gonza had said; cremating the demon's body would be the best way to get rid of the body since he didn't know how to properly bury a god or a demon. He knew the wise woman in his old village knew how to. But the Emishi were a long journey away from Irontown, and even if Ashitaka wanted to go back, he couldn't. To the Emishi people, he was dead, no longer their prince.

Ashitaka and San went off the path to the left while Eboshi and the rest went to the right. Ashitaka was worried for them since none of their weapons could hurt Kumo. He thought it may be possible for Urufu and Okami's claws to harm it, though he wasn't completely sure since the last time the wolves fought the demon, they nearly ended up killing each other.

"Are you sure you can trust that human?" San asked.

"You mean Jigo?" Ashitaka asked; San nodded in response, "I suppose I do. His mercenaries were killed by the demon, so there's one reason he would want it dead."

"I still don't like him."

"I don't either."

The first place they checked was the den. San had asked Ashitaka to go there, saying she felt that something was wrong. Ashitaka guessed she was just worried and rode over to the cave to show her that everything was fine. The only problem was that everything was not fine; the apes had arrived and appeared to be searching for them. There were only three of the mindless puppets being controlled by Kumo. Two of them jumped down the side and made their way towards Ashitaka and San.

Ashitaka dismounted Yakul with his sword drawn and San behind him with her spear. The first ape to attack was also the smallest, though he was still at least a half a foot taller than Ashitaka. Instead of charging straight at him, the ape leapt over Ashitaka and landed between him and San. The Wolf Girl, however, wasn't very surprised, as her brothers and her sometimes fought and hunted this way. She brought down the ape with a quick thrust of her spear and moved next to Ashitaka. The ape which had remained at the mouth of the cave began to take large rocks from the inside of the den and hurl them down at Ashitaka and San. The two were able to avoid them with relative ease, but the largest ape was about to come upon them.

The ape lumbered at seven feet in height with paws as large as San's head. It made a swing towards Ashitaka and San, the former of which jumped back while the latter ducked the ape's wide attack. San took the opportunity to strike at the ape with her knife, though he turned out to be faster than she thought. The ape grabbed her arm and prepared to toss her, but Ashitaka slashed at the beast and hit in its lower abdomen. The pain caused the ape to let go of San and stagger back, though it was not enough to cause any serious damage. San attempted to dart around the ape so she and Ashitaka could flank the possessed beast, though each time she or Ashitaka tried, it would step in front of them and pound the ground with its fists clenched.

Above them, the other ape had found a rock that was twice the size of his head. He hurled the heavy stone down at the three who were fighting, disregarding the safety of his ally. San saw the stone first and saw that it would hit Ashitaka where he was standing. She placed her knife between her teeth, quickly picked up a rock from the ground, threw it at the ape she and her mate were currently fighting, and tackled Ashitaka to the ground. The ape they were battling against saw this as an opportunity and jumped towards them with the intent of crushing them beneath his massive weight. The stone thrown down by his ally, however, smashed against the spine of the ape, causing him to land several inches away from Ashitaka's feet.

The remaining ape, now seeing that his two friends were down, ran back into the den. San helped up Ashitaka and looked up. Seeing that the ape was gone, they believed he had retreated. However, they were proved wrong when the ape suddenly charged out from the den and threw himself into the air. He screeched loudly as he continued to crash to the ground with great speed. Ashitaka and San simply moved out of the falling ape's way and watched as he crashed into the ground, causing the nearby earth to rumble and leaving a crater where he landed. They knew the ape wasn't dead, so San went over to him and finished the task with her spear.

"I want to see what they did up there." San told Ashitaka. Since they were most likely ahead of the others, Ashitaka nodded and went up with her, leading Ashitaka to the foot of the ledge that the den was perched upon.

Inside of the den, they found that the apes had brought in a strange totem-like object. It was made from the wood of a dead tree that had been charred by flames at one point, making it black in color. Eight carved legs, four on each side, protruded from the totem. Near the bottom of the totem was an odd mark -which somewhat resembled an hourglass- made with red paint. At the top of the totem were many painted red dots.

"I wonder what this is for." Ashitaka said.

"It's some sort of Totem," San said, "Supposedly, humans used to worship the gods of the forest. Totems were used as symbols to show which god the human would worship." San took the totem from Ashitaka and examined it. "Those apes must have been praying to the demon for some reason."

"Maybe it ordered them to." San threw the totem out of the den, causing it to land and break nearby the body of the ape which had dived at them. They did not find anything else in the cave that was of any concern to them. They returned to Yakul and remounted him. Before they continued on their way, they quickly looked around themselves to see if there were any apes nearby. Unable to see any, they continued back on their path to the Forest Spirit's pond.

A good number of miles away from the den, Okami and Urufu were leading Jigo, Gonza and Eboshi to the pond. Gonza was walking next to Eboshi while Jigo stood between the wolves and the other two. Gonza and Jigo were armed with rifles while Eboshi carried a sword. Gonza kept his eyes on Jigo to make sure the monk didn't try to pull any tricks. The wolves walked at a slower pace than usual so the humans could keep up. They remained watchful as they moved their eyes left and right to watch for the demon or the apes.

As they were walking down the path, the two wolves saw what looked like a small group of humans standing motionless on a nearby rock. They told the others to stop and alerted them of the other humans. The humans were carrying rifles and were dressed in white robes and wore red hats on their heads. They were a couple of Jigo's hunters. Seeing his comrades were still alive, Jigo waved one arm at them.

"Hey, you guys!" Jigo shouted, "It's me!"

Okami was about to tell Jigo to shut up when he saw the humans were now moving. Two of them had gotten into a crouching position while the others appeared to be putting ammunition into their rifles. "Get out of the way!" The wolf roared.

The hunters took aim and fired at the group without a word. Three rifles erupted with fire and propelled a large iron ball towards Okami, Urufu, and Lady Eboshi. Urufu dodged out of the way while Okami tackled Eboshi out of the way since she wasn't fast enough to dodge the bullet. All of the bullets missed their mark and hit the ground.

"You useless traitors!" Jigo shouted as he took aim with his rifle and fired. One of the humans was knocked back off the rock as the bullet hit him in the center of the chest. Gonza took aim with his rifle and fired. His bullet hit one of the other hunters in the shoulder, causing his arm to be blown off. "Yeah! That's two down!"

"No it isn't," Eboshi said, "look."

The human which had his arm shot off by Gonza lifted his now reloaded rifle without the slightest hint of pain and fired and Jigo. While the bullet did not hit the monk, it hit his rifle near the barrel, causing bits and pieces of iron to fly everywhere nearby. Jigo received a few shards of iron in his leg and grunted in pain. Okami and Urufu took off towards the humans, dodging the bullet from the other hunter. The two wolves leapt in unison and bit into their enemies. Okami crushed the head of the human who had lost his arm; Urufu brought his opponent down and began to rend him with tooth and claw. Gonza winced a little at the viciousness of the wolves. He knew they were fierce fighters, but he didn't know they were this fierce! The wolves returned to the humans with their mouths coated in blood.

"Any idea why they would attack us?" Gonza asked Jigo with one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"What? No! I didn't order this!" The monk cried, "I don't know why they would shoot at us. I don't even know how they escaped from that giant bug."

"Perhaps they didn't." Eboshi said, "Ashitaka told me that the demon is able to control those which are bitten by its fangs. I'm sure that we're going to encounter more of Jigo's friends, and we will have to kill them if they attack us."

"Eh, they were a bunch of cowards anyways." Jigo muttered. Before they continued on, Jigo went to the bodies to collect more bullets. Even though they couldn't harm the spider, they would be useful against the apes and hunters. As he went to the hunter which was shot first, he found a charred wooden totem tucked in the hunter's robe. He knew a little about totems and their original purpose and brought it over to the wolves. They confirmed what he had thought: his hunters were carrying an idol of the demon. Gonza took the idol from him and crushed it under his heel before they continued to the pond. A red sun had begun to set.

By the time Ashitaka and San had reached the pond, the red sun had disappeared and was replaced by a bright full moon. The hole they had made earlier had not been repaired, allowing them to enter the tent of spider webs freely. Ashitaka told Yakul to stay outside and to run away if the spider demon showed up before he went inside.

Inside the fortress of webs, they found the island remained untouched. The sacks that held the bodies of the spider's victims were now open and empty; whatever had been inside of them before were now gone.

"Where do you think it's hiding?" Ashitaka whispered to San. San shrugged and suggested they wait on the island. They swam to the island and waited on the edge of the water for the others to arrive.

Before the others were able to show up, Ashitaka and San heard what sounded like scuttling coming from the outside, followed by the sound of Yakul's hooves rapidly trotting away. Kumo had arrived.

Ashitaka immediately readied an arrow while San stood with her spear. She figured that she could bash the creature with the blunt of it since the head wouldn't cause any damage. The demon was quick to enter the area, knowing that Ashitaka and San were near. Ashitaka let his arrow loose, but the demon jumped out of the way. He readied a second one and fired just as the demon jumped onto the ceiling of webs, barely dodging the arrow. It scuttled across the ceiling and made its way to a spot over the island. Ashitaka had just readied his third arrow when the demon suddenly dropped from the ceiling and landed with a loud crash in front of him and San.

"Not this time, humans." Kumo rumbled as he swatted Ashitaka out of the way, causing him to let go of his bow and arrow and lose the arrow in the water. San took the arrow Ashitaka had dropped and drove it into one of the demon's eyes. The spider shrieked in pain and San stabbed it once more in another eye, causing it again to writhe and roar in agony. As she pulled her arm back for a third strike, the demon unleashed twenty tentacles, five for each limb, and held San in place. The Wolf Girl struggled against the grip of the demon, which began to bring San closer to him. "You are no wolf, you are a human." San managed to kick the demon in one of its injured eyes, which, while hurting the demon slightly, didn't do much to loosen its grip. "Playtime is over, feeding time has begun." The demon threw San twenty feet into the air as she gasped at the sudden burst of strength it summoned. Ashitaka managed to get up from the blow, having hit his back on a large tree on the island, and watched with horror as the demon caught San by the arms and legs, held her upside down and bit into her stomach with its fangs.

"No! San!" Ashitaka cried as he ran over to the demon with his sword in one hand and an arrow in the other. The demon tossed San's body aside and leapt up to the ceiling once more. Ashitaka, holding back tears in his eyes, ran over to San as the demon moved away from the island and back to the shore. "San, wake up!" Ashitaka cried as he crouched next to her and shook her shoulders.

To his surprise, San's eyes opened. The wound in her side had completely disappeared. Ashitaka was about to say something with a smile before he immediately noticed something was wrong. There were purple streaks on San's cheeks and her eyes were blank, nothing but white. He whispered her name, wondering if she was truly there.

"Ashitaka." San whispered back as she slowly reached for something near her leg. Ashitaka looked to see what she was reaching for and found it was her knife. Then he knew that he wasn't actually talking to San. He jumped away from her just as she thrust the knife at where his throat would be. The now possessed Wolf Girl sprung onto her feet with her knife held in a reverse grip. Ashitaka knew that if he wanted to free San from Kumo's grip, he would have to fight her to reach the demon. With great reluctance, he held his sword in a defensive stance and waited for San to strike.


	15. Swan Song

Ashitaka held his ground as San charged at him with her knife held over her head. He side stepped her and attempted to hit her in the stomach with the bottom of his sword. She jumped backwards and slashed at him twice. Ashitaka blocked both blows with his sword and attempted to get behind San and away from the island's shore. While he may have gotten away from the water, the spider demon was not about to allow San to be taken by surprise and made her turn so quickly that her ankle twisted oddly on the soft and wet earth.

"Stop this!" Ashitaka shouted at the demon as he parried a thrust from San.

"Just surrender, Ashitaka," San said, though Ashitaka knew that it actually wasn't her speaking, but it was the demon, which was using her to try and play mind-games with him, "we can leave and never return here. The Spider God will allow us to leave and be at peace if we do not return to his forest."

"This is not your forest, and you are not a god!" Ashitaka yelled directly to the demon while moving back from San's attempted strikes.

"You are wrong human. Once the apes have died off and I have killed the last remnants of the Wolf Clan, there will be few left to challenge me. I will become the god of this forest. I will drive the humans away from my domain until not one remains. All creatures of the forest will bow to me, whether they will it or not."

Ashitaka wanted to somehow get over to Kumo so he could end the demon's life, but he knew that it wouldn't be the best idea to jump in the water with San trying to kill him. She was a better swimmer than he was and would easily catch up to him and deliver the final blow. He had to somehow debilitate her so he could safely reach the demon. San was too fast for him to hit with his sword, and it was even harder for him to hit her since he had to hold it in an odd fashion so he could use the grip of his sword to hit her.

Ashitaka swung at San, this time trying to hit her with the flat end of his sword. Again, she jumped back and lunged towards him. Ashitaka, quickly thinking, threw away his sword and barely side-stepped her. He grabbed her outstretched arm and put one of his legs between hers. The resulting take-down caused them both to land on the ground with Ashitaka on top of San. The demon had San call upon all of her strength to fight back. Ashitaka knew he couldn't hold her forever, so he simply took her knife away from her hands and began to loosen his grip. Before he completely let go of her, he untied the crystal dagger from her neck and chucked it into the pond. It went further than he thought and landed close to the other side of the pond. San stood up from the ground and again charged at Ashitaka.

Back at the opening that San and Ashitaka had gone through, Jigo poked his head inside the fortress of spider webs to see what was going on. He and the rest of the group had heard San's grunts and shouts while she was fighting and were expecting to see her fighting the demon alongside Ashitaka. Gonza and Eboshi were surprised when they heard what was actually happening; Okami and Urufu were enraged.

"We have to kill that monster, now!" Urufu growled.

"Don't be so brash," Eboshi said in a quiet voice, "if you charge into that place, the demon will be ready and will defeat both of you."

"You underestimate us, human; I will shred every single eye on that thing's face and rip every one of its tentacles from its back!"

"At least allow us to distract it before you attack. That way you can more easily reach the demon."

"Let them try, brother," Okami said, "It betters our chances of saving San and her mate."

"Very well, then," Urufu said, "I assume that your plan isn't too complicated." He said to Eboshi.

"Not at all," She replied, "Gonza and Jigo will rush into the area and fire their weapons at it. When the demon goes for them, you two can ambush it and try to take it down."

Okami and Urufu agreed to the plan, though Jigo and Gonza didn't seem to share their approval. Still, they knew they had to fulfill their duties and, hesitantly, made their way to the opening.

Ashitaka dodged a punch from San, who was now using her fists, feet, and teeth to fight. She tried to kick him in the knees, but he was able to step back before she could connect. Her low kick was immediately followed by a higher one to Ashitaka's jaw. He was able to block this strike with his arms, though he was knocked back and almost tripped over a large rock. The possessed San took advantage of this and attempted to take down Ashitaka. He tried to brace against her, but she was able to use the slippery terrain to her advantage and was able to get Ashitaka off of his feet. Now, San was on top of Ashitaka and began to try to choke him.

"San, you have to break this demon's curse!" He cried. Still, San attempted to wrap her hands around his throat, not holding back an ounce of strength. Ashitaka had to get her off of him, but how? He couldn't use his hands because she would easily be able to choke him then. He didn't know if it would work as well as he wanted, but he tried to use his legs to get her off of him. At first, he simply began to, resentfully, kick and knee San in the back and once on her head. This caused her to ease a little, but it was still not enough to get her hands away from his neck. Ashitaka then tried to get his legs under her arms. Surprisingly, he was able to get both legs under San's arms and used all of his power to thrust her off of him. San landed on her side and rolled onto her back. Ashitaka got to his feet and cautiously went over to San to see if she was still able to fight. Although she initially appeared unconscious, San quickly shot her completely white eyes open and got to her feet in less than a second. Ashitaka now considered jumping into the water and hoped that San's twisted ankle would slow her down. He was about to jump into the pond when all of a sudden, two loud blasts exploded nearby the entrance.

Two bullets shot through the abdomen of the spider demon, though both wounds regenerated in almost an instance. Jigo and Gonza quickly retreated to the outside. Kumo began to chase after them, leaving San to deal with Ashitaka. Just as the spider demon came within ten meters of the opening, the two wolves charged from outside and immediately flanked the demon. Though they were fierce fighters, they were not fast or powerful enough to get past the tentacles that were thrashing nearby the demon. It released several to each wolf, both of whom leapt back and began to run to the other side of the pond.

Ashitaka watched as the wolves began to dart around the area to avoid the tentacles being released by the spider demon. He turned his attention back to San, however, when he heard her jump. He tumbled under her and she landed in front of him with her back turned. Ashitaka took this moment to hit San in the back of the head with the grip of his sword. This time, his strike connected as he swiftly hit her near the top of her head, causing the Wolf Girl to be knocked out cold and fall into the pond. Ashitaka jumped in after her and brought her back to the surface. He left her on the island shore and went back into the pond to swim to the other side.

Okami and Urufu, seeing that Ashitaka had made it off the island, began to make their retreat. The spider demon chased after them, but he wasn't fast enough to match their speed and did not have enough room to leap in front of them. It chased them to the exit and watched as they ran into the forest to find and regroup with Gonza, Jigo, and Lady Eboshi. It sent a few of its tentacles out in vain hope of catching the wolves. After stretching them to their maximum length, he returned his attention to San and Ashitaka's fight. Only, they were no longer fighting. San was on the island, unconscious and alone, and Ashitaka was nowhere to be seen.

The spider demon approached the edge of the pond to attempt to get a better view of the island and see if Ashitaka was hiding on it somewhere. Suddenly, he found Ashitaka as the young man jumped out of the water with a stone arrow in hand and plunged it into one of the demon's legs. The demon staggered back and roared in a high pitch. Ashitaka took another arrow from his quiver and slid under the spider demon. He thrust the arrow up into the demon's body, causing it to screech once more and scuttle away from him. Ashitaka was about to reach for a third arrow until one of Kumo's tentacles lashed out at him and grabbed his quiver. Ashitaka fought with the tentacle as he tried to make it let go of his arrows, which were, at this point, the only thing which could harm the demon. Just as it seemed like he would be able to wrestle his weapons free, more of the spider demon's black and red tentacles shot from its back and ripped Ashitaka's quiver from his hands. The demon poured its contents in front of him, threw the quiver aside, and began to crush the arrows under his feet.

By now, Okami and Urufu had begun their second attack and swiftly jumped onto the spider demon's back and began to bite and claw their way at him. Ashitaka was about to go and help them when he felt that something was wrong. He looked to the wolves, who appeared to have the upper hand in the fight against the demon, and back at the island. That's when he saw what was wrong: San was no longer there. Before he could call her name, he felt something slam against his back, causing him to fall forward into the pond. He saw San standing where he was with her eyes still totally white and with the faint purple streaks on her face. San jumped in after him and brought him below the water's surface.

Ashitaka felt San's grip tighten around his throat as they began to fight underwater. Ashitaka was already beginning to try to gasp for air since he didn't have any time to take a breath when San tackled him into the pond. He would hit her with his sword had he not dropped it when she took him down. He tried pushing her off of him but was quickly overpowered by her. He began to knee her in the stomach, though his blows didn't seem to affect her much. He attempted a headbutt and was able to land a blow against her. San's nose began to bleed; she was knocked back by the force of the blow, giving Ashitaka enough time to get to the surface and inhale a breath of air. He looked to see how far away he was from the shore and found that he they were no longer close to it. He looked back in the water and saw San was about to grab his leg. He avoided her grip and pushed her lower into the water. That was when he spotted something shining below the surface.

 _The dagger._ He thought. He and San were near the area that it had landed when he threw it into the water to make sure she couldn't use it against him. Ashitaka took advantage of what little time he had and dove back underwater, making sure to fill his lungs with air before he did. He quickly swam to the bottom of the pond and swiped the glimmering crystal from the muddy floor. He held the string between his teeth as he resurfaced. The demon-possessed San immediately began to swim towards him.

"Ashitaka, you have to hurry!" Urufu called from the shore. He and Okami were fighting against Kumo, but the spider demon was relentless. Okami tried to jump on to the monster's back. He was caught by one of Kumo's tentacles before he could make a scratch on the demon and was promptly thrown towards the opening of the webs.

The wolf got onto his feet and shook his head to get the cobwebs out. He could tell that he had bit down on his tongue or gums when landing because he could taste blood in his mouth. Before going back to the fight, he peered outside to see how the others humans were faring. He quickly peeked outside and saw that they were in trouble. He saw Jigo sitting behind a small boulder with his gun having broken in two; Eboshi was bleeding from the mouth and was struggling against a pair of apes, both of which were armed with clubs. Gonza was firing at a small mass of apes charging towards the three.

"Ashitaka," He called, "Your friends cannot hold on for much longer. They are starting to become overwhelmed."

"I'm trying!" He yelled as he crawled onto shore. San was not far behind and lunged at him. Ashitaka tumbled out of her path and she fell onto the dirt. "San, please, you have to fight this thing before it's too late!"

"There is no point in trying, morsel," The spider demon taunted as he grabbed Urufu by one leg as the wolf tried to bite into one of the monster's legs, "only my death can save her and the rest of these pitiful creatures that you call gods, unless you somehow have a plan to drive me far away from here."

I don't get it. Ashitaka thought as he put his arms up to block a punch from San, The demon was not as far away when his control over Okami failed. The apes shouldn't be attacking Irontown. Maybe it grew stronger by possessing more victims…

A swift kick from San hit Ashitaka in the temple, causing him to fall over dazed. He kicked her away as she tried to go for his throat once again. With what little time he had, he put the crystal around his neck and tucked the dagger under his shirt. Whether it was her natural stubbornness or the possibility that the demon's possession causes its victims to feel less pain, San quickly recovered from the blow and dashed over to Ashitaka with an open hand and curled fingers, as if she were making the shape of a claw. She swiped her sharp nails at Ashitaka and barely nicked his throat as he bent back to avoid the strike.

Kumo thrashed Urufu, slamming him into the ground repeatedly until his growling ceased and only heavy breathing and an occasional yelp was the only sound being made by the younger wolf. Okami, seeing his brother being beaten so badly, darted towards the Spider Demon, dodging the tentacles that struck the ground instead of their intended target. The Spider turned his body to face the wolf just as Okami leapt at the demon. Kumo opened his massive fangs, hoping that Okami's momentum would propel the wolf into the demon's fangs so he could gain another servant. Okami, remembering the last time he fell for this trick, purposely landed in the monster's fangs, though he did so lengthwise. Kumo was unable to bite down on him, giving the wolf enough time to bite three of the demon's many eyes. Between the wounds he received from Ashitaka, San, and the wolves in previous encounters, Kumo was missing half of his twenty eyes by now. The demon released his vice grip on Okami and made a shield with his tentacles to protect his eyes.

"Brother, I want you to help the other humans." Okami said to Urufu as the younger wolf staggered to his feet.

"No, the demon is too strong," Urufu snarled, "Even if Ashitaka is able to get away from San, Kumo can still defeat you."

"If the apes get make it in here, then there is no hope of victory for us! Go help them!"

Urufu knew what his brother said was true. He nodded and immediately went to the others to help them fight off the apes, hoping that his brother, sister, and Ashitaka would be able to defeat the Spider Demon without his help. Kumo did not react fast enough to catch the younger wolf. With the speed of lightning, he bolted through the opening and struck down one of the apes battling Lady Eboshi with a swift strike of his claws. Eboshi quickly thanked the wolf before cutting down the ape which remained fighting her. The wolf saw close to twenty apes remaining. He knew the three humans could not have taken them on their own. He was still in a great deal of pain, but he was not about to let the demon win without a fight.

Okami began to circle the spider demon repeatedly, dodging every strike the demon made with his tentacles. His objective, at the moment, was not to actually strike at the demon, but to distract the monster and give Ashitaka enough time to land a blow on the demon. He was hoping that Ashitaka would be able to do so soon, as he couldn't avoid the demon's attacks forever.

San began to deliver a flurry of quick blows to Ashitaka. Ashitaka did his best to block them, but San's striking was too fast for him to keep up with. She struck him several times on the head, but the blows were weak and only caused Ashitaka to stagger back a little bit. San then began to attack with kicks to Ashitaka's side. He was not able to block these blows as easily. After several attempts to knock him down, San tried to tackle him to the ground. Ashitaka got out of her way and grabbed one of her arms. He threw San to the ground with a quick drag of her arm. He wasted little time and began for Kumo.

The spider demon had still failed to land a hit on Okami ever since the wolf began to circle the monster. The demon had not turned his body or an eye as he used his tentacles to strike at the wolf. Kumo began to grow agitated and unleashed almost every one of his many tentacles onto the wolf. Okami dodged as many as his speed would allow, but the number and size of the monster's tentacles won out, and Okami was smacked aside by the demon. Okami landed in the pond, causing a large splash as his body made contact with the water.

Kumo, who had been focused entirely on Okami, did not hear Ashitaka's footsteps as the boy got behind a large tree to ready his attack. He carefully took the dagger from under his shirt and peered around the corner. He expected to see the spider demon watching the water to make sure Okami did not have a chance to resurface without any trouble. Instead, he saw San approach the demon and begin to speak with it. He was too far away to hear what they were saying and wasn't able to read San's lips, as they barely moved while she spoke. Suddenly, the demon turned to face Ashitaka.

"Well, human, I must say that you have fought better than I thought," Kumo said, "but you still cannot defeat me."

"That's not true," Ashitaka said, "I can still kill you, demon, and there isn't anything stopping me from doing so."

"Listen to him, Ashitaka," The still possessed San said, "The True God of the Forest has promised to leave us both at peace until our deaths so we may be able to live happily and without strife."

No, I know that's not San speaking, you're just using her body to try to make me give in. San would never forgive me if I allowed you to leave so that you could just return here and conquer the forest. And I wouldn't forgive myself either." Ashitaka began to move towards the demon with the dagger clutched in his hand.

Kumo thought of sending out San to attack him, but he knew that Ashitaka could easily match her, even if he was trying to avoid hurting her too badly. Instead, he decided to resort to a different tactic. He wrapped one of his large black tentacles around San's neck and lifted her into the air. His grip was tight, but not tight enough to suffocate or choke her badly; just enough to lift her off of the ground. This time, San did not fight back. She couldn't, as her mind was not hers. Ashitaka stopped dead in his tracks and watched in horror as San was lifted more than twenty feet into the air.

"Do not move closer, boy," The demon bellowed, "or I shall kill her in less than one second. I do not wish to do this; slaves are more useful when alive."

Ashitaka didn't move an inch as he contemplated his options. He could either allow the demon to go and he and San would live –if the demon stayed true to its promise– or he could attack the demon, but Kumo would kill San before Ashitaka could save her. Kumo continued to pressure him into surrendering, telling him that he would even lift the curse from those he had already afflicted. Ashitaka's grip on the rope which held the crystal dagger loosened for a split second before he tightly clenched it in his fist. He was torn, but he knew that if he wanted to save the forest, then he would have to kill the Spider Demon. Ashitaka looked into the glowing red eyes of the demon, or at least the ones which remained. He could sense that the demon was in pain but experiencing some sick pleasure that it received from torturing others in both mind and body.

That was when something caught Ashitaka's attention; from the waters of the Forest Spirit's pond, Okami slowly and near-silently raised his head from beneath the surface. His eyes moved from the demon, to San, and to Ashitaka. He narrowed his eyes into slits and returned beneath the surface.

"Pay attention to me," The demon commanded as he saw Ashitaka's eyes move elsewhere, "this is the only time I'll let you have a choice. If you do not make a decision in the next minute, I will kill this girl, you, and the others you have brought with you before I enslave the other humans and the rest of this forest."

A breeze blew in through the opening, causing the ends of the cut spider webs to flow along with the path of the wind. After only a few seconds, though they felt like eternities to Ashitaka, Okami leapt from the shallow water nearby the shore and aimed for the tentacle which held San. His teeth ripped through the black mass that held her, causing San to drop onto the demon's back and slip onto the ground. Ashitaka took advantage of this opening instantly and was in front of Kumo in a few short seconds. Okami began to bite and slash the claws that tried to grab him, not allowing even a single one of the demon's extra arms to touch him. Ashitaka took the dagger and slashed the demon's eyes. The monster shrieked in terrible pain as four of its ten remaining eyes were split open by the dagger. Ashitaka, sure that the demon was stunned, dropped prone and crawled to the Kumo's underbelly. Just as he readied the final blow, he heard his sword being removed from its scabbard and looked to see if it had fallen out somehow. Instead, he saw San, still white-eyed and with purple streaks on her face, grab the sword from its sheathing and slash at him with it. The sword cut into Ashitaka's side, the same one which San had stabbed with her dagger, only this time the sword went deeper than her dagger and caused more pain as it shredded through his side. He cried out in pain as she removed the sword and began her second strike. However, just before she could drive it in for the kill, Okami tackled her aside by butting her with his head. Ashitaka, now bleeding very badly, gripped the dagger in his left hand and thrust it into the Spider Demon's stomach.

Kumo knew that the end had come for him. He felt the crystal dagger pierce his unprotected underbelly and slash even further into him as Ashitaka drove the dagger forward. He was beginning to lose his grip on those he had possessed, most notably on San. The Wolf Girl had been fighting him since the moment she had been bitten, but now he felt her slip through his grip. Another strike from below is what caused him to lose her completely as he roared in agony once more.

The blackness which San had been seeing for several minutes suddenly vanished and was replaced with the sight of her brother standing over her, snarling with teeth barred, and the Spider Demon, badly bleeding from the stomach. Kumo turned his head to see if he had truly lost control of San. Seeing that she was free from his curse, the demon stumbled away from the now barely conscious Ashitaka. San still did not see him, as she was fixed on the Spider Demon and Okami was in her way of seeing her mate's body. Kumo, remaining defiant, raised a few tentacles into the air and launched them at San and Okami. The wolf turned and quickly tore the tentacles to pieces with is claws, jumping into the air and swiping at the black appendages like a cat jumps at a flying bird. San stood so she too could face the demon. She noticed she was holding Ashitaka's sword and gripped it in her right hand.

"Okami, where's Ashitaka?" She asked.

"You mean you can't remember anything?" He asked as he watched Kumo prepare three more tentacles for another strike.

"No, I blacked out when I was bitten." Before Okami could say anything, he jumped towards the three tentacles which had been sent for him. That was when San saw Ashitaka lying in a pool of his blood and the demon's black-purplish blood. His eyes were closed. He was still breathing but was also bleeding profusely from his side. In his left hand, the dagger he had given her was covered in the demon's blood. San quickly went to his side, a look of concern and horror on her face.

Ashitaka opened his eyes and looked to San with a great deal of pain in his eyes, but also relief. "San…" he said weakly.

"What happened to you?" She asked.

"The demon, he possessed you. I was able to hurt him badly enough to free you, but…" Ashitaka coughed up some blood on the ground and began to breathe heavily. Instead of finishing his sentence, he pointed to the sword in San's hand. She knew what he meant, and she felt awful about it. If this was two months ago, she would not have cared for what happened to him.

"I… I did this to you?"

"Yes. But that's not important right now." He held out the crystal dagger, which glimmered under all of the blood. San laid Ashitaka's sword next to him and took the dagger.

"I'll be back in a moment." She whispered. San stood up straight and glared at Kumo. In her bloody hands, she gripped the end of the crystal dagger and charged towards the demon, dodging two of his tentacles as she did so.

The last thing that Ashitaka saw before blacking out was San, leaping into the air with her brother with the crystal blade held high over her head. The last thing he heard was her screaming for the demon to die. He both tasted and smelled blood before he fell into darkness. His entire body was in pain, though it was his badly wounded side that wracked him with agony.


	16. The Dust Settles

San rode Yakul back to the den where her brothers were awaiting her as a light rain began to fall. Three days had passed since San, her wolf brothers, and Ashitaka had defeated Kumo at the Forest Spirit's pond. She did not know much of the battle, but from what she had been told by her brothers and the humans from Irontown, it had almost been lost. All she remembered was that she was bitten by the demon early on. During her possession, she saw only black. After she her mind returned, she saw what she had done while under the demon's curse. She was the one to strike down the monstrous spider by using the crystal dagger Ashitaka had given her. She destroyed the final few eyes left on the demon before she crawled under it and finished what Ashitaka had started. She crawled out from under the demon as it collapsed to the ground. Not too long after, it died of its wounds. Blackish-purple ooze split the spider in two as began to flood from the remains. Some of it flowed into the water of the pond before it eventually was absorbed into the earth. The body of the demon itself burned away and left a large patch of dead grass where the remains once were.

The possession over the apes had ended before the demon had died. It had apparently ended when Ashitaka stabbed Kumo in the belly, the same time the possession over San ended. The apes had lost much of their clan to the demon and to the humans when they attacked. They returned to their homes in the forest after they quietly thanked Okami and Urufu for their help. They didn't give any thanks to San or the other humans for their efforts; they were too proud to accept that humans had actually helped the forest. San didn't care much. She hadn't thought highly of the apes for years now and wasn't too surprised that they weren't grateful, though it did annoy her and make her a little angry.

Eboshi, Jigo, and Gonza returned to Irontown after Kumo was defeated. Unlike the Ape Tribe, they showed a great deal of gratitude to San and her brothers. Jigo had asked what Eboshi and Gonza were going to do with them. Eboshi told Jigo that he still needed to make amends for what he did to the people in Irontown by poisoning their food, causing several of the apes to become sick by dumping poison into the stream to get rid of any excess (something Jigo admitted he had done while he was imprisoned), and inadvertently causing the Spider Demon's creation by shooting at San's brothers. She told the monk that he would have to help in rebuilding Irontown and that she would think of a punishment afterward. Jigo accepted his fate; though he was not enthusiastic about it, it was better than death.

Irontown itself was moderately damaged by the attacks commenced by the possessed apes. Their leaping caused some of the newly rebuilt rooftops to collapse under the apes' weight. A fire broke out at one point during the fight, the result of an ape throwing an oil lantern at the stables. Many buildings were damaged by the fighting due to people slamming onto walls, weapon strikes missing their intended targets, or simply the wanton destruction the apes caused while they were under the demon's curse. The amount of townspeople who fell during the battle was slightly less than the amount of apes which perished while fighting. Even after the possession initially wore off, some of the apes and humans continued fighting since they didn't know why the other side was acting hostile. The damage, while not nearly as bad as what happened when the forest spirit collapsed on Irontown, would take a while to fix completely.

The webs which surrounded the area where the pond was located melted away with the death of their creator. Much like the ooze which came from Kumo's body, they were absorbed into the earth in a very short amount of time. San spotted some kodama come out from one of the trees and watch as the webs disappeared. San didn't know if they were hiding from the demon or if its presence somehow caused them to disappear, but she was happy to see them again. With the kodama, the rest of the forest creatures slowly began to come from places where they were hiding in, including Yakul, who had fled to a nearby cave once he saw the demon approaching.

As for Ashitaka, San was sure he was dead when she came to his side after the fight. It was only when she heard him breathing shallowly and heard his heart beating that a tear came to her eye. He was unconscious, so she and her brothers had to bring him to the pond to heal. After a day Ashitaka's wounds didn't heal nor did they worsen. The wolves guessed that it had something to do with the Spider Demon's tainted blood in the water, and they assured San that the pond would be restored in one week's time, if not slightly longer. She knew she would have to do something before one week's time if he were to survive.

San had spent the majority of the day collecting more herbs, plants, and roots to make a salve to help Ashitaka's wound heal. She wasn't entirely sure if they would work; the blade she stabbed him with created a deeper wound than the last one, which wasn't even completely healed before he fought Kumo. Eboshi had promised her that she would have somebody from the human town bring supplies to help him heal faster. It was the only time San almost smiled at a human that wasn't Ashitaka… almost.

San left Yakul at the bottom of where the cave was located and made her way to the den. The bag with everything she had collected was held in her teeth as she climbed to the mouth of the cave. When she reached its entrance, she found a sack that had some needles, thread, and other medical supplies. A note next to the bag indicated it was from the people of Irontown. San took the bag with her as she entered the den.

The wolves had cleaned up the small mess made by the apes that had found their home. San's brothers had also buried the apes outside the cave, digging the graves with their paws and rolling the bodies into the ground. The two wolves were currently at the cave, sitting inside as they waited for San. Urufu was lying on his side and Okami was sitting upright. Both wolves were badly bruised and scarred during the battle but didn't have any life-threatening wounds; the worst injury either of them sustained were five bruised ribs that Urufu had received while being thrashed around by the Spider Demon. Ashitaka was lying nearby them. His shirt was folded and placed near the back of the cave along with his sword, bow, and what few arrows remained after the battle.

"How's he doing?" San asked as she set the bags next to Ashitaka.

"The human who brought those supplies came in and laid a hand on his forehead," Okami replied, "She said that he was warm and had a 'fever', whatever that may be; Judging by the way she said it, it isn't something we would want."

"He did stir a bit a while before you came in." Urufu said.

San began to make the salve that would help Ashitaka's wound heal faster. She had made the salve before when Ashitaka was shot; this time, she gathered more ingredients than last time since the wound was worse. Combined with the supplies from Irontown and what her mother had taught her, San had a good feeling that Ashitaka would pull through.

 _He probably could without most of these things, anyway_. She thought. But she didn't want to take any chances. Human spirits may have been strong in some humans, but their bodies were not as enduring. The salve did not take a very long time to make since she knew the exact steps on how to make it by memory. She looked in the pack that was brought by the humans and found some bandages. Before she applied the salve to the bandages, she began to stitch Ashitaka's wound. The young prince did not react much to the needle piercing his flesh repeatedly. San didn't know if it was because he was unconscious or if he was very tough, though it could have been both. After she finished stitching the gash completely, San bit off the excess string and applied the salve to the bandages. Once that was done, she wrapped Ashitaka's abdomen in the bandages to make sure they wouldn't fall off.

"San," Okami called from the cave's entrance, "Urufu and I are off to go hunting; we haven't eaten in a few days."

San nodded in response and her brother jumped off the side to the waiting younger wolf. After she made sure that she had done what she could to treat Ashitaka's wounds, she lied down next to him and began to feel drowsy. Night was falling and she hadn't slept in a couple of days due to the demon. She pulled her wolf pelt over her and Ashitaka and laid her head on the ground. The moon outside was large and full. Moonlight flowed into the cave, giving it a dim lighting that was just enough for San to see most of the forest outside. San yawned as she curled up under the pelt and fell asleep next to Ashitaka.

Several hours into the night, Ashitaka woke up to a familiar feeling in his side. It was the slight sting that was caused by the salve San used on him a few weeks ago. He felt his side and felt that is was the same one she used before. He noticed that he was lying next to San under her wolf pelt. She was fast asleep, curled up with her knees close to her chest. Ashitaka smiled and stroked her hair, causing her to stir a bit but not wake up.

Ashitaka tried to sit up, but felt a very sharp pain in his side as he tried to do so. He let out a surprised gasp which was loud enough to wake up San. He sighed and lied back down as San sat up.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

"I'll be fine," Ashitaka replied, "just a little hurt from that fight."

"You were more than that; I thought you were dead when I saw you."

"I thought I would be. I wasn't sure how far in the blade had gone."

San lied back down but was a little closer to Ashitaka. The two held each other under San's fur pelt. Suddenly, San moved away from Ashitaka and buried her face in her forearms.

"What's wrong?" Ashitaka asked.

"I almost killed you, again," San replied, still looking away from him, "I feel like I keep causing you to be hurt."

"San, it's not your fault that the demon took control of you."

"Maybe, but I feel weak for not being able to break its hold earlier."

"That doesn't make you responsible for what happened to me."

"But this isn't the first time! I was the reason those humans shot you, I've stabbed you out of anger twice, and I almost killed you while we were fighting that demon."

"San, the reason I arrived here was because of a terrible wound; Nago's curse was supposed to have killed me in less than a year unless I found a way to cure it. The curse may have been what brought me here, but you're the reason I stayed."

San raised her head slightly and looked at him with wet eyes. He sat up, wincing at the pain in his side as he did, and held out his arms. San sat up also and the two held each other closely and tightly. Ashitaka felt a tear from San's eye fall onto his shoulder. He began to cry a little as well, much like when he and she were at the pond together for the first time. But this time, there were no more demons, no more battles between the humans and the forest, no more curses, and no animosity between Ashitaka and San.

"You know," San said, "between your wound and the demon, we weren't able to do much together in the forest, or even at the humans' town."

"Don't worry," Ashitaka said, "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we can spend the entire day together in the forest."

"But you're still hurt…"

"It's alright, we'll just do something easy, like ride Yakul around the forest or perhaps go fishing."

"What's fishing?" San asked.

Ashitaka remembered that San had probably never used, let alone see, a fishing pole before. "I'll show you tomorrow." Ashitaka kissed San on the forehead and she returned it by licking his face. Then she decided to take a page from how humans showed affection.

Ashitaka was taken by surprise when San rolled him onto his back and locked her lips with his. In the dim moonlight which poured into the room, the two kissed deeply before falling asleep in each others' arms, ready to begin a new adventure come morning.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first ever fanfic I ever wrote, and I feel like it shows. I posted this about a year ago on fanfiction.net and only recently discovered this site, so I thought I would share it here. I feel like quite a bit of the dialogue are awkward and the prose is subpar. Still, it's the first piece I've written and completed, so I keep it around anyway. Despite the fact that I may not find the writing to be all that great, I got good reviews for it. Please tell me what you think of it in the comments, and thank you for reading!


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